Propylene Polymers

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to propylene polymers comprising at least 50 mol % propylene, said polymers having: a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10 dg/min to 25 dg/min; b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R 2  at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28; c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow, T c,rheol  (as determined by SAOS rheology, 190° C., 1° C./min, where said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least 131° C.; d) an average meso run length determined by  13 C NMR of at least 90 or higher; and e) optionally, a loss tangent, tan δ, (defined by Eq. (2)) at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s at 190° C. from 14 to 70.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 61/732,451, filed Dec. 3, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to propylene polymers having an excellent combination of rheological, crystallization, and tacticity properties useful in extruded applications, such as molded parts, films, fibers, and fabrics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Polypropylene is conventionally used to produce fibers and spunbond nonwovens for a wide range of articles, such as, for example, disposable hygiene goods including diapers, sanitary napkins, training pants, adult incontinence products, hospital gowns, baby wipes, moist towelettes, cleaner cloths, and the like. The typical polypropylene nonwoven fabric can mimic the appearance, texture, and strength of a woven fabric. In combination with other materials, they provide a spectrum of products with diverse properties and are also used alone or as components of apparel, home furnishings, health care, engineering, industrial, and consumer goods. Conventionally, propylene based materials, such as, polypropylene that present excellent spinability (e.g., stable fabrication without breaks of thin fibers on the order of 0.7 to 2 denier and particularly 1 to 1.5 denier) suffer from poor fiber and/or fabric properties (e.g., low tensile strength/tenacity). Inversely, polypropylene compositions that exhibit acceptable fiber/fabric properties, such as, good tensile strength, have poor processability associated with fiber breaks and drips in the spinline, particularly when thin fibers are made (e.g., <20 microns or equivalently <2 denier). Thus, there is a general interest to impart superior tensile strength in both machine direction (MD) and transverse direction (TD, also referred to as Cross Direction, CD) of polypropylene nonwoven fabrics, while exhibiting excellent processability and spinability, particularly for applications requiring improved mechanical strength such as disposable hygiene articles.

Likewise, in general, at low fabric basis weights (e.g., <15 g/m²), high line speeds (e.g., >600 m/min) and high throughput rates, conventional polypropylene resins do not provide the desired fabric strength properties. Thus, it is desirable to develop a propylene based resin that exhibits high fabric strength at low fabric basis weights and high line speeds. This allows the fabric converter to downgauge the spunbonding process utilizing less polypropylene resin (lower basis weight fabric) without sacrificing fabric mechanical properties. When used to prepare low basis weight (less than 15 g/m²), spunbond fabrics at high line speeds (such as 9000 m/min or more), typical polypropylene resins tend to show specific tensile strengths (tensile strength in N per 5 cm fabric width divided by fabric basis weight) of roughly 1 N/5 cm/gsm or less (where gsm is g/m²) in the transverse (cross) direction when run in a three beam spunbonding configuration.

Additional references of interest include: U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,603; U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,076; U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,217; U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,103; US 2010/233927; US 2011/059668; US 2011/081817; US 2012/0116338, US 2010/0233928; US 2008/0182940; US 2008/0172840; US 2009/0022956; WO 2010/087921; WO 2006/044083; WO 2006/118794; WO 2007/024447; WO 2005/111282; WO 2001/94462; JP 2007-023398 A (JAPAN POLYCHEM CORP, Feb. 1, 2007); and 80(8) JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, 1243-1252 (2001).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to propylene polymer compositions having an excellent combination of rheological, crystallization, and tacticity properties useful in extruded applications, such as molded parts, films, fibers, and fabrics. Specifically, this invention relates to propylene polymers comprising at least 50 mol % propylene, said polymer having:

-   a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10 dg/min     to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min; -   b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by     Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28; -   c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow, T_(c,rheol)     (as determined by SAOS rheology, 1° C./min as described below, where     said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least 131°     C.; and -   d) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90     or 97 or higher.

A number of other combinations of rheological, crystallization, and tacticity attributes defining the inventive compositions are also disclosed herein.

The inventive composition can be a reactor grade propylene polymer or a controlled rheology (visbroken) propylene polymer. In the case of visbroken propylene polymers, this invention also relates to a process to make the above propylene polymers comprising contacting a propylene polymer having an MFR of 0.1 to 8 dg/min (preferably 0.5 to 6 dg/min, preferably 0.8 to 3 dg/min), with a visbreaking agent (such as peroxide) under conditions sufficient to obtain a propylene polymer having an MFR of 10 dg/min or more, preferably from 10 to 25 dg/min, preferably from 14 to 19 dg/min, as further described herein.

This invention also relates to propylene polymer compositions useful for producing fibers, fabrics, nonwovens, films, molded articles, and other articles. The composition of the present invention is advantageous in nonwoven spunbonding applications leading to the desirable combination of high fabric strength (both in MD and CD directions) at low fabric basis weights (e.g., less than 15 gsm) and high fabric production line speeds (e.g., greater than 600 m/min) as well as excellent processability/spinability. The inventive composition is also advantageous in the production of molded parts exhibiting high flexural modulus, high tensile strength at yield, and high heat distortion temperature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts the evolution of the loss tangent (tan δ) under a cooling SAOS rheological experiment.

FIG. 2 depicts the complex viscosity of Examples 1, 3, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventors have surprisingly discovered propylene based compositions characterized by a unique combination of specific melt rheological, crystallization, and tacticity molecular parameters resulting in a superior combination of spinability and fiber/fabric tensile properties. In addition, the inventive compositions desirably have distinct rheological (including melt elasticity) and shear thinning characteristics, differentiated DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) behavior, and crystallization under flow kinetics as monitored by rotational rheometry. Contrary to previous polypropylenes, the compositions of the present invention do not require narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn) to achieve enhanced spinability and fiber properties. Therefore, the inventive compositions do not have to be made with metallocene catalysts to obtain narrow Mw/Mn, although use of metallocene catalysts (and narrow Mw/Mn's) is still feasible as long as the composition satisfies the defined range of compositional attributes described herein. The inventive compositions are particularly useful for formation of spunbonded fabrics, melt blown fabrics, combinations of spunbonded and melt blown fabric structures as well as partially oriented yarns, fully oriented yarns, and staple fibers. The inventive compositions are also advantageous in the production of molded parts with high flexural modulus, high tensile strength at yield, and high heat distortion temperature.

An “olefin,” alternatively referred to as “alkene,” is a linear, branched, or cyclic compound of carbon and hydrogen having at least one double bond. For purposes of this specification and the claims appended thereto, when a polymer or copolymer is referred to as comprising an olefin, including, but not limited to ethylene, propylene, and butene, the olefin present in such polymer or copolymer is the polymerized form of the olefin. For example, when a copolymer is said to have a “propylene” content of 35 wt % to 55 wt %, it is understood that the mer unit in the copolymer is derived from propylene in the polymerization reaction and said derived units are present at 35 wt % to 55 wt %, based upon the weight of the copolymer. A “polymer” has two or more of the same or different mer units. A “homopolymer” is a polymer having mer units that are the same. A “copolymer” is a polymer having two or more mer units that are different from each other. A “terpolymer” is a polymer having three mer units that are different from each other. The term “different” as used to refer to mer units indicates that the mer units differ from each other by at least one atom or are different isomerically. Accordingly, the definition of copolymer, as used herein, includes terpolymers and the like. A “propylene polymer,” also referred to as “polypropylene,” is a polymer comprising 50 mol % or more units derived from propylene. An oligomer is typically a polymer having a low molecular weight (such an Mn of less than 25,000 g/mol, preferably less than 2,500 g/mol) or a low number of mer units (such as 75 mer units or less).

As used herein, the new notation for the Periodic Table Groups is used as described in Chemical and Engineering News, 63(5), 27 (1985).

As used herein, “metallocene catalyst” means a Group 4 transition metal compound having at least one cyclopentadienyl, indenyl or fluorenyl group attached thereto that is capable of initiating olefin catalysis, typically in combination with an activator.

The terms “catalyst” and “catalyst compound” are defined to mean a compound capable of initiating catalysis. In the description herein, the catalyst may be described as a catalyst precursor, a pre-catalyst compound, or a transition metal compound, and these terms are used interchangeably. A catalyst compound may be used by itself to initiate catalysis or may be used in combination with an activator to initiate catalysis. When the catalyst compound is combined with an activator to initiate catalysis, the catalyst compound is often referred to as a pre-catalyst or catalyst precursor. A “catalyst system” is a combination of at least one catalyst compound, an optional activator, an optional co-activator, and an optional support material, where the system can polymerize monomers to polymer. For the purposes of this invention and the claims thereto, when catalyst systems are described as comprising neutral stable forms of the components, it is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, that the ionic form of the component is the form that reacts with the monomers to produce polymers.

Good spinability is defined in this invention as no fiber breaks, drips, or hard pieces occurring for a running period of 8 hours at throughput rates in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 ghm (grams per minute per hole) when forming fibers of 0.8 to 5 (preferably 0.8 to 4, preferably 0.8 to 2.5, preferably 1 to 1.6) denier for fabrics having a basis weight of 5 to 25 g/m² (preferably 7 to 20 g/m², preferably 8 to 15 g/m², preferably 9 to 11 g/m²). Hard pieces are small plastic aggregates that affect the homogeneity of nonwoven fabric negatively.

For purposes of this invention and the claims thereto, when a polymer is described as having has 0 wt % nucleating agent present, it means that no external nucleating agents have been added to the polymer. The phrase does not mean that the polymer contains no “internal nucleating agents,” i.e., materials that are present in the neat polymer as produced that act as nucleating agents. When a polymer is described as having a certain property with 0 wt % nucleating agent present, it means the test is conducted on polymer that has had no external nucleating agents added to it. For example, the phrase “having a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 123° C. or higher” means that the polymer in question has a T_(cp) of at least 123° C. or higher when measured on a sample of the polymer where no external nucleating agents have been added to the polymer prior to the DSC test. This phrase is not meant to indicate that nucleating agents may not be added to the polymers as part of the normal production process.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the propylene polymers to be formed into fibers and/or nonwovens are produced by visbreaking a propylene polymer, typically by visbreaking a propylene polymer having an MFR of 0.1 to 8 dg/min (preferably 0.6 to 6 dg/min, preferably 0.8 to 3 dg/min).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises a visbroken (controlled rheology) propylene polymer or a reactor grade propylene polymer (i.e., a propylene polymer that has not been treated to visbreaking) or combinations thereof. In the case of a visbroken propylene composition, the initial polymer before the visbreaking step will be referred to as the “base polymer.” The visbroken polymer or reactor grade polymer (that was not visbroken prior to conversion) can be transformed into useful articles including, but not limited to, fibers, fabrics, webs, molded parts, etc.

Polymer Compositions

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may comprise visbroken (controlled rheology), reactor grade (non visbroken) propylene based polymers, and/or combinations thereof. The inventive propylene polymer compositions are preferably formed into fibers, webs, molded parts, or other shapes.

Specifically, this invention relates to propylene polymers comprising at least 50 mol % propylene (preferably at least 80 mol % propylene, preferably at least 90 mol % propylene, preferably 100 mol % propylene), said polymer having:

-   a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10 to 21.5     dg/min (preferably 12 to 22 dg/min, preferably 13 to 25 dg/min,     preferably 14 to 19 dg/min, preferably 14 to 18 dg/min, preferably     14 to 17 dg/min); -   b) a dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by     Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28 (preferably 2 to 15,     preferably 2.5 to 6.5); -   c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow, T_(c,rheol)     (as determined by SAOS rheology, 1° C./min as described below, where     said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least     131° C. (preferably 133° C. or more, preferably 135° C. or more,     preferably 136° C. or more, preferably 137° C. or more); and -   d) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90     or 97 (preferably 97 to 150, preferably 100 to 140, preferably 105     to 130); and, optionally, -   e) a loss tangent, tan δ, (defined by Eq. (2) below) at an angular     frequency of 0.1 rad/s at 190° C. from 10 to 70 (preferably 14 to     70, preferably 35 to 65, preferably 45 to 55).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the propylene polymer is propylene homopolymer.

Preferred inventive propylene polymer compositions useful herein include propylene polymers additionally having one or more of the following properties:

-   1. an Mw of 30,000 to 2,000,000 g/mol, preferably 150,000 to 300,000     g/mol, more preferably 190,000 to 240,000 g/mol, as measured by GPC     described in the Test Methods section; and/or -   2. a Tm (second melt, 1° C./min ramp speed, also referred to as     “T_(mp)”) of 100° C. to 200° C., preferably 110° C. to 185° C.,     preferably 115° C. to 175° C., more preferably 140° C. to 170° C.,     more preferably 155° C. to 167° C., as measured by the DSC method     described below in the Test Methods; and/or -   3. a percent crystallinity (based on the heat of crystallization) of     20% to 80%, preferably 30% to 70%, more preferably 35% to 55% as     measured by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods;     and/or -   4. a glass transition temperature, Tg, of −50° C. to 120° C.,     preferably −20° C. to 100° C., more preferably 0° C. to 90° C., as     determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods;     and/or -   5. a crystallization temperature, Tc, (1° C./min ramp speed, also     referred to as “T_(cp)”) determined on a sample having 0 wt %     nucleating agent of 15° C. to 150° C., preferably 110° C. to 150°     C., more preferably 126° C. to 147° C., preferably 129° C. to 139°     C., as measured by the DSC method described below in the Test     Methods; and/or -   6. a branching index (g′_(vis)) of 0.85 or more, preferably 0.90 or     more, preferably 0.95 or more, preferably 0.99 or more.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have an Mw/Mn of 1 to 7, preferably 1.2 to 5, more preferably 1.5 to 4, as measured by GPC.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have an Mz/Mw of 1.5 to 2.5, more preferably 1.8 to 2.2, more preferably 1.9 to 2.1, as measured by GPC.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have an onset temperature of crystallization under flow, T_(c,rheol) (determined via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min, 190° C., where the polymer sample to be tested has 0% nucleating agent, as described below) of 131° C. or more, preferably 135° C. or more, preferably 136° C. or more, preferably 137° C.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ (defined by Eq. (7) below) at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5, preferably 1.8 to 3.6, preferably 2 to 3, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. of 1.5 to 28, preferably 2 to 15, preferably 2.5 to 6.5, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ (defined by Eq. (9) below) at 190° C. of 6 to 13, preferably 6.5 to 12.5, preferably 7 to 10, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. of 1.5 to 20, preferably 1.7 to 10.7, preferably 2 to 6, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s (defined by Eq. (2) below) at 190° C. from 14 to 70, preferably 35 to 65, preferably 45 to 55, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have an average meso run length (defined by Eq. (16) below) of 90 or 97, preferably 100 or higher, preferably 105 or higher, as determined by the ¹³C NMR method described below in the Test Methods section. Alternately, any of the inventive propylene polymer compositions of this invention may have an average meso run length (defined by Eq. (16) below) of 97 to 150, preferably 100 to 140, preferably 105 to 130.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(mp) (second heat, measured by DSC at a heating rate of 1° C. per minute) of 120° C. or more, 140° C. or more, preferably 155° C. or more, preferably 160° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(mp) (measured by DSC at a heating rate of 10° C. per minute) of 120° C. or more, preferably 140° C. or more, preferably 155° C. or more, preferably 160° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C. per minute, where the polymer to be measured has 0 wt % nucleating agent) of 125° C. or more, preferably 126° C. or more, preferably 127° C. or more, preferably 128° C. or more, preferably 129° C., preferably 130° C. or more, preferably 133° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per minute, where the polymer to be tested has 0 wt % nucleating agent) of 115° C. or more, preferably 116° C. or more, preferably 117° C. or more, preferably 118° C. or more, preferably 119° C. or more, preferably 120° C. or more, preferably 121° C. or more, preferably 122° C. or more, preferably 123° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the composition may have a supercooling parameter SPC (defined by Eq. (12) below) (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 1° C. per minute, where the polymer to be tested has 0% nucleating agent) of −11° C. or less, preferably −15° C. or less, or preferably less than −17° C., as determined by the DSC method as described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the composition may have a supercooling parameter SPC (defined by Eq. (12) below) (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 10° C. per minute, where the polymer to be tested has 0% nucleating agent) of −1° C. or less, preferably −3.5° C. or less, as determined by the DSC method as described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have an onset temperature of crystallization under flow (determined via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) T_(c,rheol) where the polymer to be tested has 0 wt % nucleating agent) of 131° C. or more, preferably 135° C. or more, preferably 136° C. or more, preferably 137° C. or more, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section, and a dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ (defined by Eq. (7) below) at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5, preferably 1.8 to 3.6, preferably 2 to 3, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(mp) (measured by DSC at a heating of 1° C. per minute) of 140° C. or more, preferably 155° C. or more, preferably 160° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test and Materials section, and dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ (defined by Eq. (7) below) at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5, preferably 1.8 to 3.6, preferably 2 to 3, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(c,rheol) of 131° C. or more, preferably 135° C. or more, preferably 136° C. or more, preferably 137° C. or more, as determined the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section, and a dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. of 1.5 to 20, preferably 1.7 to 10.7, preferably 2 to 6, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 1° C. per minute, where the polymer to be tested has 0 wt % nucleating agent) of 125° C. or more (preferably 126° C. or more, preferably 127° C. or more, preferably 128° C. or more, preferably 130° C. or more, preferably 133° C. or more), as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test a section, and a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. of 1.50 to 20, preferably 1.7 to 10.7, preferably 2 to 6, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per minute, where the polymer to be measured has 0 wt % nucleating agent) of 115° C. or more, preferably 116° C. or more, preferably 117° C. or more, preferably 118° C. or more, preferably 119° C. or more, preferably 120° C. or more, preferably 122° C. or more, preferably 123° C. or more, as determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Section, and a dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. of 1.5 to 20, preferably 1.7 to 10.7, preferably 2 to 6, as determined by the SAOS Rheology method described below in the Test Methods section.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene based polymer having:

-   (1) an MFR in the range from 10 dg/min to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min; -   (2) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by     Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28; -   (3) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow T_(c,rheol)     (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of at least     131° C. or higher; and -   (4) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90     or 97.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene based polymer having:

-   1) an MFR in the range from 10 dg/min to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min; -   2) a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s     (defined by Eq. (2) below) at 190° C. from 14 to 70; -   3) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow T_(c,rheol)     (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of at least     131° C. or higher; and -   4) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90     or 97.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene based polymer having:

-   1) an MFR in the range from 10 dg/min to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min; -   2) a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by     Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 20; -   3) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C. per minute)     with 0% nucleating agent of at least 125° C. or higher; and -   4) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90     or 97.

In any embodiment of the invention herein, the inventive propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene based polymer having:

-   1) an MFR in the range from 10 dg/min to 21.5 dg/min; and

a) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ (defined by Eq. (7) below) at 190° C. from 1.2 to 4.5; or

b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28; or

c) a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ (defined by Eq. (9) below) at 190° C. from 6 to 13; or

d) a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. from 1.5 to 20; or

e) a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s (defined by Eq. (2) below) at 190° C. from 14 to 70; or

f) a Stress Ratio (SR) at a shear rate of 500 s⁻¹ (defined by Eq. (6) below) at 190° C. from 3.1 to 6.1; and

-   2) a) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow T_(c,rheol)     (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of at least     131° C. or higher; or

b) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C. per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 125° C. or higher; or

c) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 117° C. or higher; or

d) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 10° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of less than −1° C.; or

e) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of less than −11° C.; and

-   4) a) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least     90 or 97; or

b) a total number of defects (stereo and regio) per 10,000 monomers of less than 103.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer composition has:

-   1) an MFR in the range from 14 dg/min to 19 dg/min; and -   2) a) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ (defined by Eq. (7)     below) at 190° C. from 2.0 to 3.0; or

b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ (defined by Eq. (8) below) at 190° C. from 2.5 to 6.5; or

c) a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ (defined by Eq. (9) below) at 190° C. from 7.0 to 10.0; or

d) a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ (defined by Eq. (10) below) at 190° C. from 2.0 to 6.0; or

e) a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s (defined by Eq. (2) below) at 190° C. from 35 to 65; or

f) a Stress Ratio (SR) at a shear rate of 500 s⁻¹ (defined by Eq. (6) below) at 190° C. from 3.3 to 4.0; and

-   3) a) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow T_(c,rheol)     (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of at least     134° C. or higher; or

b) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C. per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 133° C. or higher; or

c) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 123° C. or higher; or

d) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 10° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of less than −3.5° C.; or

e) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a heating and cooling rate of 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating agent of less than −17.0° C.; and

-   4) a) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least     100 or higher; or

b) a total number of defects (stereo and regio) per 10,000 monomers of less than 100.

Inventive propylene polymer compositions useful herein include: polypropylene homopolymers, polypropylene copolymers, impact copolymer polypropylenes, and blends thereof. The homopolymer may be isotactic polypropylene, syndiotactic polypropylene or blends thereof, including blends with atactic polymer. The copolymer can be a random copolymer, a statistical copolymer, a block copolymer, or blends thereof. The method of making the propylene polymers is not critical, as they can be made by slurry, solution, gas phase, a supercritical polymerization process as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769, a super-solution homogeneous polymerization process as the one described in US 2010/0113718, or other suitable processes, and by using catalyst systems appropriate for the polymerization of polyolefins, such as Ziegler-Natta-type catalysts, metallocene-type catalysts, other appropriate catalyst systems, or combinations thereof. Such catalysts are well known in the art, and are described in, for example, ZIEGLER CATALYSTS (Gerhard Fink, Rolf Mülhaupt and Hans H. Brintzinger, Eds., Springer-Verlag 1995); Resconi et al., Selectivity in Propene Polymerization with Metallocene Catalysts, 100 CHEM. REV. 1253-1345 (2000); and I, II METALLOCENE-BASED POLYOLEFINS (Wiley & Sons 2000). In a preferred embodiment, useful propylene polymers are made by the catalysts, activators and processes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,342,566; 6,384,142; 5,741,563; WO 03/040201; and WO 97/19991. In another preferred embodiment, the catalysts described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0113718 are useful to make propylene polymers useful herein.

In a preferred embodiment, the inventive propylene polymer compositions can be a unimodal reactor grade, a bimodal reactor grade, an in-reactor blend, or an extruder blend of two or more propylene polymers (for example, a blend of MFR's of 36 dg/min and 2 dg/min) In another embodiment, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may have a unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn) distribution of polymer species as determined by GPC. By bimodal or multimodal is meant that the GPC-SEC trace has more than one peak or inflection point. An inflection point is the point where the second derivative of the curve changes in sign (e.g., from negative to positive or vice versus).

The composition of the present invention advantageously presents favorable physical properties of molded parts including high stiffness (flexural modulus), high tensile strength at yield, high yield strain, and high heat distortion temperature even without the use of a nucleating agent. In another embodiment, the inventive propylene polymer composition has a 1% secant flexural modulus determined by ASTM D790A (with 0% nucleating agent) of 190 kpsi or higher, preferably greater than 200 kpsi, preferably greater than 210 kpsi.

In another embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer composition has a yield stress determined by ASTM 638 (with 0% nucleating agent) greater than 4,700 psi, preferably greater than 5,000 psi, preferably greater than 5,100 psi. In another embodiment of the invention, the composition has a yield strain determined by ASTM 638 (with 0% nucleating agent) greater than 7%, preferably greater than 8% psi, and preferably greater than 9%.

In another embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer composition has a tensile strength at yield of 4,700 psi or higher, preferably greater than 5,000 psi, preferably greater than 5,100 psi (as determined by ASTM 638 with 0 wt % nucleating agent).

In another embodiment of the invention, the composition has a heat distortion temperature at 66 psi determined by ASTM D 648 (with 0% nucleating agent) of 95° C. or more, preferably greater than 98° C., preferably greater than 100° C., preferably greater than 105° C.

Polymer microstructure is determined by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy as described in the Test Methods section below, including the concentration of isotactic and syndiotactic diads ([m] and [r]), triads ([mm] and [rr]), and pentads ([mmmm] and [rrrr]). The designation “m” or “r” describes the stereochemistry of pairs of contiguous propylene groups, “m” referring to meso and “r” to racemic. The polymers present in inventive propylene polymer composition useful in the present invention have some level of tacticity. Preferably, the polymers present in inventive propylene polymer composition useful in the present invention have some level of isotacticity. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, isotactic polypropylene is used in the inventive propylene polymer compositions. Similarly, highly isotactic polypropylene may be used in another embodiment of the inventive propylene polymer compositions. As used herein, “isotactic” is defined as having at least 10% isotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR. As used herein, “highly isotactic” is defined as having at least 60% isotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR. In another embodiment of the invention, the composition may have an average meso run length MRL (defined by Eq. (16) below) as determined by ¹³C NMR (described in the Tests section) of higher than 97, preferably higher than 100, preferably higher than 105, preferably 97 to 150, preferably 100 to 140, preferably 105 to 130.

In another embodiment of the invention, the polymer used in the inventive propylene polymer compositions is syndiotactic, preferably highly syndiotactic. As used herein, “syndiotactic” is defined as having at least 10% syndiotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR. As used herein, “highly syndiotactic” is defined as having at least 60% syndiotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR.

In another embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may comprise a blend of a tactic polymer with an atactic propylene polymer. Atactic polypropylene is defined to be less than 10% isotactic or syndiotactic pentads. Preferred atactic polypropylenes typically have an Mw of 10,000 up to 1,000,000 g/mol.

Propylene polymers useful herein include those produced by metallocene catalyst systems including those propylene polymers having a composition distribution breadth index (CDBI) of 60% or more, preferably 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, preferably 90% or more. CDBI is measured as described in WO 93/03093, with the modification that any fractions having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) below 25,000 g/mol are disregarded.

In another embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer compositions may be further blended with any polypropylene described herein, such as a homopolypropylene having an MFR of 22 dg/min or more, preferably 20 to 30 dg/min, preferably 22 to 28 dg/min, preferably 25 dg/min. The inventive propylene polymer compositions may be present in such blends at from 1 wt % to 99 wt %, based upon the weight of the blend, preferably 5 wt % to 50 wt %, preferably wt % 5 to 25 wt %. Preferably, the homopolypropylene having an MFR of 22 dg/min or more is present in the blend at 99 wt % to 1 wt %, based upon the weight of the blend (preferably at 95 wt % to 50 wt %, preferably at 95 wt % to 75 wt %) and the inventive propylene polymer composition is present in the blend at from 1 wt % to 99 wt %, based upon the weight of the blend, preferably 5 wt % to 50 wt %, preferably 5 wt % to 25 wt %.

Propylene Polymers Useful for Visbreaking

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inventive propylene polymer composition is produced by visbreaking a base propylene polymer having an MFR of 0.1 to 8 dg/min. Base propylene polymers useful herein to produce the visbroken polymers include polypropylene homopolymers, polypropylene copolymers, and blends thereof. The homopolymer may be isotactic polypropylene, syndiotactic polypropylene, or blends thereof (including blends with atactic polypropylene). The copolymer can be a random copolymer, a statistical copolymer, a block copolymer, or blends thereof. The method of making the base propylene polymer is not critical, as it can be made by slurry, solution, gas phase, a supercritical polymerization process as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769, a super-solution homogeneous polymerization process as the one described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0113718, or other suitable processes, and by using catalyst systems appropriate for the polymerization of polyolefins, such as Ziegler-Natta-type catalysts, metallocene-type catalysts, other appropriate catalyst systems, or combinations thereof. Such catalysts are well known in the art, and are described in, for example, ZIEGLER CATALYSTS (Gerhard Fink, Rolf Mülhaupt and Hans H. Brintzinger, Eds., Springer-Verlag 1995); Resconi et al., Selectivity in Propene Polymerization with Metallocene Catalysts, 100 CHEM. REV. 1253-1345 (2000); and I, II METALLOCENE-BASED POLYOLEFINS (Wiley & Sons 2000). In a preferred embodiment, the base propylene polymers are made by the catalysts, activators and processes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,342,566; 6,384,142; 5,741,563; WO 03/040201; and WO 97/19991.

In a preferred embodiment, the base propylene polymer can be a unimodal reactor grade, a bimodal reactor grade, an in-reactor blend, or an extruder blend of two or more propylene polymers (for example, a blend of MFR's of 0.8 dg/min and 2 dg/min). The base polymer may have a unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn) distribution of polymer species as determined by GPC. By bimodal or multimodal is meant that the GPC-SEC trace has more than one peak or inflection point. An inflection point is that point where the second derivative of the curve changes in sign (e.g., from negative to positive or vice versus). Typically, the base polymer is visbroken to a final MFR preferably in the range of 10 to 25 dg/min, more preferably 14 to 19 dg/min. In another embodiment of the invention, the base polymer may not require peroxide cracking for increase of the MFR, as long as the in-reactor base polymer has desirable MFR (e.g., in the range of 10 to 25 dg/min and rheological characteristics). The inventive composition could also be an extruder blend of two or more propylene polymers with or without peroxide cracking step, as long as combination of the key melt rheological parameters, crystallization and tacticity attributes are satisfied.

Preferred base propylene polymers useful to make the visbroken polymer of this invention typically have:

-   1. an Mw of 240,000 to 2,000,000 g/mol preferably 265,000 to     800,000, more preferably 300,0000 to 600,000, as measured by the GPC     method described in the Tests Method section; and/or -   2. an Mw/Mn of 1 to 25, preferably 1.6 to 15, more preferably 2 to     8, more preferably 3 to 6, as measured by the GPC method described     in the tests method section; and/or -   3. a Tm (second melt, 1° C./min ramp speed, also referred to as     “T_(mp)”) of 100° C. to 200° C., preferably 120° C. to 185° C.,     preferably 130° C. to 175° C., more preferably 140° C. to 170° C.,     even more preferably 155° C. to 167° C., as measured by the DSC     method described below in the Test Methods; and/or -   4. a percent crystallinity (based on the heat of crystallization) of     20% to 80%, preferably 10% to 70%, more preferably 35% to 55%, as     measured by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods;     and/or -   5. a glass transition temperature (Tg) of −50° C. to 120° C.,     preferably −20° C. to 100° C., more preferably 0° C. to 90° C., as     determined by the DSC method described below in the Test Methods;     and/or -   6. a crystallization temperature (Tc 1° C./min ramp speed, also     referred to as “T_(cp)”) with 0% nucleating agent of 50° C. to 170°     C., preferably 100° C. to 150° C., more preferably 110° C. to 145°     C., preferably 115° C. to 135° C., as measured by the DSC method     described below in the Test Methods; and/or -   7. a branching index (g′_(vis)) of 0.85 or more, preferably 0.90 or     more, preferably 0.95 or more, preferably 0.99 or more, as measured     by the GPC method described in the Test Methods section; and/or -   8. an MFR (ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 0.1 to 8 dg/min,     preferably 0.5 to 5 dg/min, more preferably 0.8 to 3 dg/min; and/or -   9. at least 10% tacticity (e.g., at least syndiotactic or at least     10% isotactic).

The base propylene homopolymer or propylene copolymer useful in the present invention preferably has some level of isotacticity. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, isotactic polypropylene is used as the base propylene polymer herein. Similarly, highly isotactic polypropylene may be used in another embodiment as the base polymer. In another embodiment of the invention, the base propylene polymer may have an average meso run length MRL (defined by Eq. (16) below) as determined by ¹³C NMR (described in the Test Methods section) of higher than 50, more preferably higher than 80, more preferably higher than 100, more preferably higher than 105.

In another embodiment of the invention, the base propylene polymer useful herein is syndiotactic, preferably highly syndiotactic. As used herein, “syndiotactic” is defined as having at least 10% syndiotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR. As used herein, “highly syndiotactic” is defined as having at least 60% syndiotactic pentads according to analysis by ¹³C NMR.

In another embodiment of the invention, the base propylene polymer useful herein may comprise a blend of a tactic polymer (such as isotactic polypropylene or highly isotactic polypropylene) with an atactic propylene polymer. Atactic polypropylene is defined to be less than 10% isotactic or syndiotactic pentads. Useful atactic polypropylenes typically have an Mw of 10,000 up to 1,000,000 g/mol.

Visbreaking/Chain Scission

The terms “visbreaking” and “chain scission” are used interchangeably and are defined as the process of using one or more free radical initiators to increase polymer melt flow rate (MFR). This is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,114. A “free radical initiator” is defined as a molecular fragment having one or more unpaired electrons.

A polymer undergoes chain scission in accordance with this invention when the base polymer, or a blend of polymers, is treated with a free radical initiator, e.g., peroxide, preferably while the polymer is in a melted state, more preferably in a fully melted state. Preferably, the chain scission is controlled. For example, when a free radical initiator is used, free radicals of the polymers being treated are produced by thermal scission of the peroxide. Other sources of free radicals such as diazo compounds, oxygen, or other compounds may also be utilized. In any case, it is contemplated that the free radicals produced from the initiator (e.g., peroxide) abstract the tertiary hydrogen on the propylene residue of the polymer. The resulting free radical disproportionates to two lower molecular weight chains, one with an olefin near the terminus and the other a saturated polymer. This process can continue with the generation of successively lower molecular weight polymers. Thus, under the appropriate conditions, chain scission is initiated to cause controlled degradation of the polymer or polymer blend.

Crosslinking is a competing process that may occur during chain scission. In a crosslinking reaction, the free radicals combine to form branched macromolecules of higher molecular weight. Eventually, this synthesis reaction may lead to vulcanization of the polymer. In copolymers of ethylene and propylene, this balance of crosslinking and degradation is mainly dependent on the composition of the copolymer. Since the degradation reaction is uniquely associated with the propylene residues, lower amounts of propylene in the copolymer tend to favor crosslinking over degradation. However, it should be recognized that the scission and crosslinking reactions are not mutually exclusionary. That is, even during degradation, some amount of branching may occur. In some cases, the branching and scission reactions are random and do not lead to an increase in Mw/Mn. The amount of branching depends on a number of variables, primarily the reaction conditions, and the composition of the polymers and the extent of degradation. Random copolymers having a higher ethylene content should generate a higher level of branching than those with a lower ethylene content. Thus, in certain embodiments of this invention, the rate or extent of degradation is substantially proportional to the relative amounts of propylene and ethylene sites. For example, if too many ethylene sites are present, the use of the peroxide or other free radical initiator may result in crosslinking rather than chain scission, and the material being treated will not degrade to a higher MFR. Thus, an important aspect of certain specific embodiments of this invention relates to the relative amounts of the polymers used in the blend. In blends of the base propylene polymers, these degradation processes occur for both of the polymers independently of each other.

The free-radical initiator, e.g., peroxide, may be added to the polymer while the polymer is in a solid form, e.g., by coating polymer pellets with an initiator, such as peroxide, which may be in powder, liquid, or other form, in which case the polymer is said to be “treated” with the initiator when the initiator becomes active, which usually happens at a temperature higher than melting point of the polymer. Preferably, however, the free-radical initiator is added to the polymer after the polymer has formed, but while the polymer is in a melted condition, e.g., during the post-polymerization processing, such as when a polymer mixture (which may include solvent) is introduced to a devolatilizer or extruder, which typically occurs at an elevated temperature.

The term “melted” refers to the condition of the polymer when any portion of the polymer is melted, and includes fully melted and partially melted. Preferably, the polymer is treated by free-radical initiator while the temperature of the polymer is above its melting point.

In one embodiment, the visbreaking agent is a peroxide and an organic peroxide in another embodiment, wherein at least a methyl group or higher alkyl or aryl is bound to one or both oxygen atoms of the peroxide. In yet another embodiment, the visbreaking agent is a sterically hindered peroxide, wherein the alkyl or aryl group associated with each oxygen atom is at least a secondary carbon, a tertiary carbon in another embodiment. Non-limiting examples of sterically hindered peroxides (“visbreaking agents”) include 2,5-bis(tert-butylperoxy)-2,5-dimethylhexane, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-bis-(t-butylperoxy)-hexyne-3,4-methyl-4-t-butylperoxy-2-pentanone, 3,6,6,9,9-pentamethyl-3-(ethylacetate)-1,2,4,5-textraoxy cyclononane, α,α′-bis-(tert-butylperoxy)diisopropyl benzene, and mixtures of these and any other secondary- or tertiary-hindered peroxides. A preferred peroxide is 2,5-bis(tert-butylperoxy)-2,5-dimethyl-hexane, also known with the commercial name: Luperox 101 or Trigonox 101. Luperox 101 or Trigonox 101 can be fed in the extruder pure in liquid form or as a masterbatch blend in mineral oil (e.g., 50/50 weight/weight blend of Trigonox 101/mineral oil). Another common peroxide used as a visbreaking agent for polypropylene is di-t-amyl peroxide, most commonly known with the commercial name DTAP. Alternatively, the free radical initiator may include a diazo compound, or any other compound or chemical that promotes free radicals in an amount sufficient to cause degradation as specified herein.

Preferred propylene polymers useful in this invention, include those that have been treated with a visbreaking agent such that its MFR is increased by at least 10%, preferably by at least 50% preferably by at least 100%, preferably by at least 300%, preferably by at least 500%, preferably by at least 650%. In the event the polymer is a blend of different propylene polymers, then an average MFR based on the logarithmic weight blending rule (Robeson, L. M., “Polymer Blends”, Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2007, Chapter 6, p. 368) of the MFRs of the individual blend components is used to determine the MFR of the blend and was found to lead to excellent estimation of the blend MFR of the studied systems. For example, for a two component system, the ln(melt flow rate of the blend)=(weight fraction of component 1×ln(melt flow rate of component 1)+weight fraction of component 2×ln(melt flow rate of component 2). In another embodiment, the visbroken polymer has an MFR that is from 10 to 25 units (dg/min) higher than the base polymer used to make the visbroken polymer, preferably 12 to 22 dg/min, preferably 14 to 19 dg/min.

Additives

A variety of additives may be incorporated into the embodiments described above used to make the fibers and fabric or molded materials for various purposes. Such additives include, for example, stabilizers, antioxidants, fillers, colorants, nucleating agents, and slip additives. Primary and secondary antioxidants include, for example, hindered phenols, hindered amines, and phosphates. Nucleating agents include, for example, sodium benzoate, talc, and other chemicals. Also, other nucleating agents may also be employed such as Ziegler-Natta olefin product or other highly crystalline polymer. Other additives such as dispersing agents, for example, Acrowax C, can also be included. Slip agents include, for example, oleamide, and erucamide. Catalyst deactivators are also commonly used, for example, calcium stearate, hydrotalcite, calcium oxide, acid neutralizers, and other chemicals known in the art.

Other additives may include, for example, fire/flame retardants, plasticizers, curative agents, curative accelerators, cure retarders, processing aids, tackifying resins, and the like. The aforementioned additives may also include fillers and/or reinforcing materials, either added independently or incorporated into an additive. Examples include carbon black, clay, talc, calcium carbonate, mica, silica, silicate, combinations thereof, and the like. Other additives which may be employed to enhance properties include antiblocking agents, lubricants, and nucleating agents. The lists described herein are not intended to be inclusive of all types of additives which may be employed with the present invention. Nucleating agents and fillers tend to improve rigidity of the article which is particularly desired in certain classes of molded parts.

It is known that in the making of some meltspun fibers, surfactants and other active agents can been included in the polymer that is to be melt-processed. By way of example only, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,973,068 and 4,070,218 teach a method of mixing a surfactant with the polymer and then melt-processing the mixture to form the desired fabric. The fabric is then treated in order to force the surfactant to the surface of the fibers. This is often done by heating the web on a series of heated rolls and is often referred to as “blooming”. As a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,414 describes wettable olefin polymer fibers formed from a composition comprising a polyolefin and one or more surface-active agents. The surface-active agents are stated to bloom to the fiber surfaces where at least one of the surface-active agents remains partially embedded in the polymer matrix. In this regard, the permanence of wettability can be better controlled through the composition and concentration of the additive package. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,914 to Nohr et al., teaches a surface-segregatable, melt-extrudable thermoplastic composition suitable for processing by melt extrusion to form a fiber or film having a differential, increasing concentration of an additive from the center of the fiber or film to the surface thereof. The differential, increasing concentration imparts the desired characteristic, e.g., hydrophilicity, to the surface of the fiber. As a particular example in Nohr, polyolefin fiber nonwoven webs are provided having improved wettability utilizing various polysiloxanes.

Of course, the particular active agent or agents included within one or more of the components can be selected as desired to impart or improve specific surface characteristics of the fiber and thereby modify the properties of the fabric made there from. A variety of active agents or chemical compounds have heretofore been utilized to impart or improve various surface properties including, but not limited to, absorbency, wettability, anti-static properties, anti-microbial properties, anti-fungal properties, liquid repellency (e.g., alcohol or water), and so forth. With regard to the wettability or absorbency of a particular fabric, many fabrics inherently exhibit good affinity or absorption characteristics for only specific liquids. For example, polyolefin nonwoven webs have heretofore been used to absorb oil or hydrocarbon based liquids. In this regard, polyolefin nonwoven wipes are inherently oleophillic and hydrophobic. Thus, polyolefin nonwoven fabrics can be treated in some manner in order to impart good wetting characteristics or absorbency for water or aqueous solutions or emulsions. As an example, exemplary wetting agents that can be melt-processed in order to impart improved wettability to the fiber include, but are not limited to, ethoxylated silicone surfactants, ethoxylated hydrocarbon surfactants, ethoxylated fluorocarbon surfactants, and so forth. In addition, exemplary chemistries useful in making melt-processed thermoplastic fibers more hydrophilic are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,973,068; 4,070,218; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,191.

In a further aspect, it is often desirable to increase the barrier properties or repellency characteristics of a fabric for a particular liquid. As a specific example, it is often desirable in infection control products and medical apparel to provide a fabric that has good barrier or repellency properties for both water and alcohol. In this regard, the ability of thermoplastic fibers to better repel water or alcohol can be imparted by mixing a chemical composition having the desired repellency characteristics with the thermoplastic polymer resin prior to extrusion and thereafter melt-processing the mixture into one or more of the segments. The active agent migrates to the surface of the polymeric component thereby modifying the surface properties of the same. In addition, it is believed that the distance or gap between components exposed on the outer surface of the fiber containing significant levels of active agent is sufficiently small to allow the active agent to, in effect, modify the functional properties of the entire fiber and thereby obtain a fabric having the desired properties. Chemical compositions suitable for use in melt-extrusion processes and that improve alcohol repellency include, but are not limited to, fluorochemicals. Exemplary melt-processable liquid repellency agents include those available from DuPont under the trade name ZONYL fluorochemicals and also those available from 3M under the trade designation FX-1801. Various active agents suitable for imparting alcohol repellency to thermoplastic fibers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,727; U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,360; U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,983; U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,402; U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,188; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,052. In addition to alcohol repellency, chemical compositions can be used to similarly improve the repellency or barrier properties for other low surface tension liquids. By use of the present invention, many of the above discussed advantageous properties may be found during the formation of the fibers.

Process oils can be optimally added to the embodiments described above. Useful process oils are typically (a) hydrocarbons consisting essentially of carbon and hydrogen with possible traces of hetero atoms such as oxygen or (b) hydrocarbons consisting essentially of carbon, hydrogen, and at least one hetero atom such as dioctyl phthalate, ethers, and polyethers. The process oils have a boiling point to be substantially involatile at 200° C. These process oils are commonly available either as neat solids or liquids or as physically absorbed mixtures of these materials on an inert support (e.g., clays, silica) to form a free flowing powder.

The process oils usually include a mixture of a large number of chemical compounds which may consist of linear, acyclic, but branched, cyclic and aromatic carbonaceous structures. Another family of process oils are certain organic esters and alkyl ether esters having a molecular weight (M_(n)) of less than 10,000. Examples of such process oils include, but are not limited to, Sunpar™ 150 and 220 from The Sun Manufacturing Company of Marcus Hook, Pa., USA, Hyprene™ V750 and Hyprene™ VI 200 from Ergon, Post Office Box 1639, Jackson, Mass. 39215-1639, USA, and IRM 903 from Calumet Lubricants Co., Princeton, La. It is also contemplated that combinations of process oils, each of which is described above may be used in the practice of the invention.

In another embodiment, the process oils may be any of the oils described at page 3, paragraph [0050] to page 9, paragraph [0110] of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0106723.

The addition of process oils to the polymers maybe made by any of the conventional means known to the art. The compounding step may be carried out in a batch mixer such as a mill or an internal mixer such as Banbury mixer. The compounding operation may also be conducted in a continuous process such as a twin screw extruder.

The inventive propylene polymer compositions may include process oil in the range of from 1 to 50, preferably in the range of from 2 to 20, parts by weight of process oil per hundred parts of total polymer.

In certain embodiments, the various components of the inventive propylene polymer compositions, as well as blends thereof, may include various amounts of plasticizer(s). In one embodiment, the plasticizer comprises C₆ to C₂₀₀ paraffins and C₈ to C₁₀₀ paraffins in another embodiment. In another embodiment, the plasticizer consists essentially of C₆ to C₂₀₀ paraffins and consists essentially of C₈ to C₁₀₀ paraffins in another embodiment. For purposes of the present invention and description herein, the term “paraffin” includes all isomers such as n-paraffins, branched paraffins, isoparaffins, and may include cyclic aliphatic species, and blends thereof, and may be derived synthetically by means known in the art, or from refined crude oil in such a way as to meet the requirements described for desirable NFPs described herein.

Suitable plasticizers also include “isoparaffins,” “polyalphaolefins” (PAOs), and “polybutenes.” These three classes of compounds can be described as paraffins which can include branched, cyclic, and normal structures, and blends thereof. They can be described as comprising C₆ to C₂₀₀ paraffins in one embodiment and C₈ to C₁₀₀ paraffins in another embodiment.

The plasticizer may be present in the individual components and/or the blends of the invention from 0.1 wt % to 60 wt % in one embodiment, from 0.5 wt % to 40 wt % in another embodiment, from 1 wt % to 20 wt % in yet another embodiment, and from 2 wt % to 10 wt % in yet another embodiment, wherein a desirable range may comprise any upper wt % limit with any lower wt % limit described herein.

Fiber and Fabric Formation

The formation of nonwoven fabrics from polyolefins and their blends generally requires the manufacture of fibers by extrusion followed by consolidation or bonding. The extrusion process is typically accompanied by mechanical or aerodynamic drawing of the fibers. The fabric of the present invention may be manufactured by any technique known in the art. Such methods and equipment are well known. For example, spunbond nonwoven fabrics may be produced by spunbond nonwoven production lines produced by Reifenhauser GmbH & Co., of Troisdorf, Germany. This utilizes a slot drawing technique as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,142; U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,750; and EP 1340 843 A1. Additional useful methods include those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2012/0116338 A1 and 2010/0233928 A1.

Conventional Fine Denier Fibers

The three more conventional fiber types, continuous filament, bulked continuous filament, and staple, and related manufacturing processes to produce them, are contemplated as applications for the fibers of the present invention. For example, the polymer melt is extruded through the holes in the die (spinneret) between, 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm in diameter. Low melt viscosity of the polymer is important and is achieved through the use of high melt temperature (230° C. to 280° C.) and high melt flow rates (e.g., 10 g/10 min to 40 g/10 min) of the polymers used. A relatively large extruder is usually equipped with a manifold to distribute a high output of molten PP to a bank of two to fifty (alternately eight to twenty) spinnerets. Each spinhead is usually equipped with a separate gear pump to regulate output through that spinhead; a filter pack, supported by a “breaker plate;” and the spinneret plate within the head. The number of holes in the spinneret plate determines the number of filaments in a yarn and varies considerably with the different yarn constructions, but it is typically in the range of 40 to 100,000 (alternately 50 to 250). The holes are typically grouped into round, annular, or rectangular patterns to assist in good distribution of the quench air flow.

Continuous Filament

Continuous filament yarns typically range from 40 denier to 2,000 denier (denier=number of grams/9000 meters). Filaments can range from 1 to 20 denier per filament (dpf) and the range is expanding. Spinning speeds are typically 10 to 10,000 m/min (alternately 800 m/min to 1500 m/min). An exemplary method would proceed as follows. The filaments are drawn at draw ratios of 3:1 or more (one- or two-stage draw) and wound onto a package. Two-stage drawing allows higher draw ratios to be achieved. Winding speeds are of 2,000 m/min or more, alternately 3,500 m/min or more, are useful.

Partially Oriented Yarn (POY)

Partially oriented yarn (POY) is the fiber produced directly from fiber spinning without solid state drawing (as continuous filament mentioned above). The orientation of the molecules in the fiber is done only in the melt state after the molten polymer leaves the spinneret. Once the fiber is solidified, little or no drawing of the fiber takes place and the fiber is wounded up into a package. The POY yarn (as opposed to fully oriented yarn, or FOY, which has gone through solid state orientation and has a higher tensile strength and lower elongation) tends to have a higher elongation and lower tenacity.

Bulked Continuous Filament

Bulked Continuous Filament (“CF”) fabrication processes fall into two basic types, one-step and two-step. For example, in a two-step process, an undrawn yarn is spun at less than 1,000 m/min (3,300 ft/min), usually 750 m/min, and placed on a package. The yarn is drawn (usually in two stages) and “bulked” on a machine called a texturizer. Winding and drawing speeds are limited by the bulking or texturizing device to 2,500 m/min (8,200 ft/min) or less. A common process today is the one-step spin/draw/text (SDT) process. It is similar to the one-step CF process, except that the bulking device is in-line. Bulk or texture changes yarn appearance, separating filaments, and adding enough gentle bends and folds to make the yarn appear fatter (bulkier).

Staple Fiber

There are two basic staple fiber fabrication processes: traditional and compact spinning. The traditional process typically involves two steps: 1) producing, applying finish, and winding followed by 2) drawing, a secondary finish application, crimping, and cutting into staple. Filaments can range, for example, from 0.5 dpf to >70 dpf, (dpf=denier per filament) depending on the application. Staple length can be as short as 3 mm or as long as 200 mm (0.25 in. to 8 in.) to suit the application. For many applications, the fibers are crimped. Crimping is accomplished by over-feeding the tow into a steam-heated stuffer box with a pair of nip rolls. The over-feed folds the tow in the box, forming bends or crimps in the filaments. These bends are heat-set by steam injected into the box.

Meltblown Fabrics/Fibers

Meltblown fibers are fibers formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine, usually circular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into usually converging, usually hot, and high velocity, gas, e.g., air, streams to attenuate the filaments of molten thermoplastic material to form fibers. During the meltblowing process, the diameter of the molten filaments is reduced by the drawing air to a desired size. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers are carried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collecting surface to form a web of substantially randomly disbursed meltblown fibers. Such a process is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241; U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,733; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,746. Meltblown fibers may be continuous or discontinuous and are generally smaller than ten microns in average diameter.

In a conventional meltblowing process, molten polymer is provided to a die that is disposed between a pair of air plates that form a primary air nozzle. Standard meltblown equipment includes a die tip with a single row of capillaries along a knife edge. Typical die tips have approximately 30 capillary exit holes per linear inch of die width. The die tip is typically a 60° wedge-shaped block converging at the knife edge at the point where the capillaries are located. The air plates in many known meltblowing nozzles are mounted in a recessed configuration such that the tip of the die is set back from the primary air nozzle. However, air plates in some nozzles are mounted in a flush configuration where the air plate ends are in the same horizontal plane as the die tip; in other nozzles the die tip is in a protruding or “stick-out” configuration so that the tip of the die extends past the ends of the air plates. Moreover, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,746, more than one air flow stream can be provided for use in the nozzle.

In some known configurations of meltblowing nozzles, hot air is provided through the primary air nozzle formed on each side of the die tip. The hot air heats the die and thus prevents the die from freezing as the molten polymer exits and cools. In this way the die is prevented from becoming clogged with solidifying polymer. The hot air also draws, or attenuates, the melt into fibers. Other schemes for preventing freezing of the die, such as that detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,207, using heated gas to maintain polymer temperature in the reservoir, is also known. Secondary, or quenching, air at temperatures above ambient is known to be provided through the die head, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,303. Primary hot air flow rates typically range from 20 to 24 standard cubic ft. per minute per in. of die width (SCFM/in).

Primary air pressure typically ranges from 5 to 10 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) at a point in the die head just prior to exit. Primary air temperature typically ranges from 232° C. to 315° C., but temperatures of 398° C. are not uncommon. The particular temperature of the primary hot air flow will depend on the particular polymer being drawn as well as other characteristics desired in the meltblown web.

Expressed in terms of the amount of polymer material flowing per inch of the die per unit of time, polymer throughput is typically 0.5 to 1.25 grams per hole per minute (ghm). Thus, for a die having 30 holes per inch, polymer throughput is typically 2 to 5 lbs/in/hr (PIH).

Moreover, in order to form meltblown fibers from an input of five pounds per inch per hour of the polymer melt, one hundred pounds per inch per hour of hot air is required to draw or attenuate the melt into discrete fibers. This drawing air must be heated to a temperature on the order of 204° C. to 315° C. in order to maintain proper heat to the die tip.

Because such high temperatures must be used, a substantial amount of heat is typically removed from the fibers in order to quench, or solidify, the fibers leaving the die orifice. Cold gases, such as air, have been used to accelerate cooling and solidification of the meltblown fibers. In particular, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,068 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,569, secondary air flowing in a cross-flow perpendicular, or 90°, direction relative to the direction of fiber elongation, has been used to quench meltblown fibers and produce smaller diameter fibers. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,701 uses a cooler pressurized quench air that fills chamber 71 and results in faster cooling and solidification of the fibers. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,159, a cold air flow is used to attenuate the fibers when it is desired to decrease the attenuation of the fibers.

Through the control of air and die tip temperatures, air pressure, and polymer feed rate, the diameter of the fiber formed during the meltblown process may be regulated. For example, typical meltblown polypropylene fibers have a diameter of 3 to 4 microns.

After cooling, the fibers are collected to form a nonwoven web. In particular, the fibers are collected on a forming web that comprises a moving mesh screen or belt located below the die tip. In order to provide enough space beneath the die tip for fiber forming, attenuation, and cooling, forming distances of at least 8 to 12 inches between the polymer die tip and the top of the mesh screen are required in the typical meltblowing process.

However, forming distances as low as 4 inches are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,733 to Lau (hereafter the Lau patent). As described in Example 3 of the Lau patent, the shorter forming distances are achieved with attenuating air flows of at least 37° C. cooler than the temperature of the molten polymer. For example, the Lau patent discloses the use of attenuating air at 65° C. for polypropylene melt at a temperature of 266° C. to allow a forming distance between die tip and forming belt of 4 inches. The Lau patent incorporates passive air gaps 36 (shown in FIG. 4 of the Lau patent) to insulate the die tip.

In a preferred embodiment, melt blown fibers are produced with the polymers described herein. In the melt blown process molten polymer moves from the extruder to the special melt blowing die. As the molten filaments exit the die, they are contacted by high temperature, high velocity air (called process or primary air). This air rapidly draws and, in combination with the quench air, solidifies the filaments. The entire fiber forming process generally takes place within 7 mm (0.25 in.) from the spinnerets. The fabric is formed by blowing the filaments directly onto a forming wire, 200 mm to 400 mm (8 in. to 15 in.) from the spinnerets. Melt blown microfibers useful in the present invention can be prepared as described in Van A. Wente, “Superfine Thermoplastic Fibers,” 48 INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY, 1342-1346, and in Report No. 4364 of the Naval Research Laboratories, published May 25, 1954, entitled “Manufacture of Super Fine Organic Fibers” by Van A. Wente et al.

Spunbonded Fabrics

A particular embodiment of the present invention involves the use of the invention polymers in the making of spunbonded fabrics. Conventional spunbond processes are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,379; U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,864; U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,297; U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,366; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,340. The spunbonding process is one which is well known in the art of fabric production. Generally, continuous fibers are extruded, laid on an endless belt, and then bonded to each other, and often times to a second layer such as a melt blown layer, often by a heated calender roll, or addition of a binder. An overview of spunbonding may be obtained from L. C. Wadsworth and B. C. Goswami, Nonwoven Fabrics: “Spunbonded and Melt Blown Processes” proceedings Eight Annual Nonwovens Workshop, Jul. 30-Aug. 3, 1990, sponsored by TANDEC, University of Knoxville, Tenn.

A typical spunbond process consists of a continuous filament extrusion, followed by drawing, web formation by the use of some type of ejector, and bonding of the web. First, in one embodiment of the invention, a propylene based polymer having an MFR of 10 to 25 g/10 min (or a propylene polymer that has been visbroken to have an MFR of 10 to 25 dg/min) is obtained and preferably converted into pellets. The pelletized 10 to 25 dg/min MFR propylene based resin is then fed into an extruder. In the extruder, the pellets simultaneously are melted and forced through the system by a heating melting screw. At the end of the screw, a spinning pump meters the melted polymer through a filter to a spinneret where the melted polymer is extruded under pressure through capillaries, at a rate of 0.3 to 1.0 grams per hole per minute. The spinneret contains several thousand capillaries, typically measuring 0.4 to 0.6 mm in diameter. The polymer is melted at 30° C. to 100° C., typically 50° C. to 100° C. above its melting point to achieve sufficiently low melt viscosity for extrusion. The fibers exiting the spinneret are quenched and drawn into fine fibers measuring 10 to 40 microns in diameter by cold, high velocity air jets. The solidified fiber is laid randomly on a moving belt to form a random netlike structure known in the art as web. After web formation the web is bonded to achieve its final strength using a heated textile calenders known in the art as thermo bond calenders. The calenders consists of two heated steel rolls; one roll is plain and the other bears a pattern of raised points. The web is conveyed to the calender wherein a fabric is formed by pressing the web between the rolls at a bonding temperature of 100° C. to 200° C.

While bonding occurs within a wide temperature range, the bonding temperature must be optimized for achieving a fabric having maximum mechanical strength. Over bonding, that is, bonding at a temperature greater than optimum, results in fibers having significantly weaker fiber around the bonding point because of excessive melting of the fiber. These become the weak points in the fabric. Under bonding, that is, bonding at a temperature lower than the optimum, results in insufficient bonding at the fiber-to-fiber links. The optimum bonding temperature depends upon the nature of the material that the fibers are made of.

Annealing

Another part of the invention is that the mechanical properties referred to above can be obtained by the annealing the polymer fiber. Annealing is often combined with mechanical orientation. It is preferred to employ an annealing step in the process. Annealing may also be done after fabrication of a non-woven material from the fibers. Annealing partially relieves the internal stress in the stretched fiber and restores the elastic recovery properties of the blend in the fiber. Annealing has been shown to lead to significant changes in the internal organization of the crystalline structure and the relative ordering of the amorphous and semicrystalline phases. This leads to recovery of the elastic properties. Thermal annealing of the polymer blend is conducted by maintaining the polymer blends or the articles made from such a blend at a temperature between room temperature (hereinafter 23° C.) to a maximum of 160° C. or more, preferably to a maximum of 130° C., for a period between 5 min to less than 7 days. A typical annealing period is 3 days at 50° C. or 5 min at 100° C. The annealing time and temperature can be adjusted for any particular blend composition by experimentation. While the annealing is done in the absence of mechanical orientation, the latter can be a part of the annealing process on the fiber (past the extrusion operation) required to produce an elastic material. Mechanical orientation can be done by the temporary, forced extension of the polymer fiber for a short period of time before it is allowed to relax in the absence of the extensional forces. Oriented polymer fibers are obtained by maintaining the polymer fibers or the articles made from a blend at an extension of 100% to 700% for a period of 0.1 seconds to 24 hours. A typical orientation is an extension of 200% for a momentary period at room temperature.

For orientation, a polymeric fiber at an elevated temperature (but below the crystalline melting point of the polymer) is passed from a feed roll of fiber around two rollers driven at different surface speeds and finally to a take-up roller. The driven roller closest to the take-up roll is driven faster than the driven roller closest to the feed roll, such that the fiber is stretched between the driven rollers. The assembly may include a roller intermediate the second roller and take-up roller to cool the fiber. The second roller and the take-up roller may be driven at the same peripheral speeds to maintain the fiber in the stretched condition. If supplementary cooling is not used, the fiber will cool to ambient temperature on the take up roll.

In other embodiments, the nonwoven fabrics of the present invention require little to no post fabrication processing. In another embodiment, the fabrics of the present invention are annealed in a single-step by a heated roll (godet) during calendering under low tension. Depending on the end use application, it is apparent what techniques are appropriate and what variations in process parameters are required to obtain the desired fabric properties.

Devices and methods to convert the compositions described herein into fibers and fabrics are known in the art, see, for example, EP 1 340 843 A1.

The propylene compositions described herein can also be formed into fibers using an apparatus for the continuous production of a spunbonded web of filaments, with spinneret, a cooling chamber in which the process air for cooling filaments can be inserted, a monomer exhaust device located between spinneret and cooling chamber, a stretching unit, and a deposit device for depositing the filaments to spunbonded nonwoven fabric, wherein the cooling chamber is divided into two cooling chamber sections, wherein process air from a first upper cooling chamber section with a volume flow VM can be pulled (such as with a vacuum) to the monomer exhaust device, said process air from the first upper cooling chamber section with a volume flow V1 escaping into a second lower cooling chamber section and said volume flow ratio is VM/V1 0.1 to 0.3, preferably 0.12 to 0.25.

Especially preferred volume flow ratio is from 0.15 to 0.2 VM/V1. The flow rate is appropriately measured in m³/s. The term process air refers in particular to cooling air for filament cooling. Preferably, the filaments are stretched aerodynamically in the stretching unit. A very particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the filaments are produced as monocomponent filaments. In principle, bicomponent filaments or multicomponent filaments can also be produced.

A recommended embodiment of the invention is characterized in that process air with a volume flow V2 escapes from the second lower cooling chamber section and that the volume flow ratio of the volume flow V1 escaping from the first upper cooling chamber section to the volume flow V2 (V1/V2) escaping from the second lower cooling chamber section is from 0 to 0.5, preferably 0.05 to 0.5, and particularly preferably 0.1 to 0.45. It is within the scope of the invention that the filaments escaping from the second lower cooling chamber section and the process air escaping from second lower cooling chamber section are introduced into the stretching unit.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that process air from the first upper cooling chamber section is escaping with a speed V1 into the second lower cooling chamber section, that process air is escaping from the second lower cooling chamber section with a speed V2 and that the speed ratio V1/V2 is 0.2 to 0.5, preferably 0.25 to 0.5, and preferentially 0.3 to 0.5. After successful embodiment variant the speed ratio V1/V2 is from 0.35 to 0.45 and in particular for example 0.4. It is within the scope of the invention that between the cooling chamber and the stretching unit an intermediate passage is located. The intermediate channel from the outlet of the cooling chamber to the inlet of a covert channel of the stretching unit is converging wedge-shaped in the vertical section. Conveniently, the intermediate channel converges wedge-shaped to the inlet of the covert channel in the vertical section on the entrance width of the drawing channel. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the invention there is no air supply provided in the range of the cooling chamber and in the transition region between the cooling chamber and stretching unit, apart from the supply of process air in the cooling chamber. In that regard, the invention works with a closed system. Preferably, in the section of the cooling chamber, in the region of the intermediate channel and in the region of stretching unit no air supply from outside will be provided, apart from the supply of process air in the cooling chamber. It is recommended that at least one diffuser should be arranged between the stretching unit and the storage device. Such a diffuser advantageously has a storage device oriented toward the diverging section or a section with diverging side walls. As a result a fail-safe deposition of the filaments to non-uniform web is easier. Preferably, the depositing apparatus is an endlessly circulating conveyer belt. The filaments are deposited on this conveyer belt for spunbonded nonwoven fabric and the fabric is subsequently suitably compacted and/or consolidated, preferably the consolidation occurs in a calender.

To solve the technical problem the invention further teaches a process for continuous production of a spunbonded nonwoven fabric of thermoplastic material filaments, wherein the filaments are spun through a spinneret and guided past the monomer exhaust device into a cooling chamber, wherein the filaments are cooled in the cooling chamber with process air, wherein the cooling chamber is divided into two cooling chamber sections, wherein process air from a first upper cooling chamber section with a volume flow VM can be pulled (such as with a vacuum) to the monomer exhaust device, said process air from the first upper cooling chamber section with a volume flow V1 exiting in a second lower cooling chamber section and said volume flow ratio is VM/V1 0.1 to 0.3, preferably 0.12 to 0.25, wherein the filaments after leaving the cooling chamber are introduced into a stretching unit and wherein the filaments then deposited on a conveyer belt for the spunbonded nonwoven fabric.

It is within the scope of the invention that the filaments are produced as monocomponent filaments.

It is also within the scope of the invention that the drawing of the filaments is carried to obtain a filament diameter from 0.3 to 5 denier, alternately from 0.3 to 2 denier, alternately from 0.3 to 0.9 denier. Conveniently, the filament diameter of the inventive filaments is smaller than 3 denier, alternately smaller than 2.5 denier, alternately smaller than 2 denier, alternately smaller than 1 denier. The filament diameter is measured at the spunbonded nonwoven fabric deposited filaments.

In a preferred embodiment, any of the fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention have a CD specific tensile strength (determined from the peak load of the force-elongation curve as measured by Worldwide Strategic Partners test 110.4(5) (WSP 110.4 (05)) of at least 1 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably at least 1.1 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably at least 1.2 N/5 cm/gsm, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min. CD specific tensile strength (N/5 cm/gsm) is CD strength (N/5 cm) divided by fabric basis weight (gsm) (normalization).

In a preferred embodiment, any fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention has a MD specific tensile strength (as measured by WSP 110.4 (05)) of at least 2.7 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably at least 2.9 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably 3.0 N/5 cm/gsm, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min. MD specific tensile strength (N/5 cm/gsm) is MD strength (N/5 cm) divided by fabric basis weight (gsm) (normalization).

In a preferred embodiment, any of the fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention have a tensile strength anisotropy defined as the ratio of the specific tensile strength in the MD over the CD (as measured by WSP 110.4 (05)) of less than 2.7, preferably less than 2.6, preferably less than 2.6, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a preferred embodiment, any of the fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention have a total hand (determined as described in the Test Methods below) of less than 6.8 gr, preferably less than 6.6 gr, preferably less than 6.5 gr, for a fabric basis weight in the range 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min. Preferably, the fabrics made herein have a total hand of less than 6.8 gr and more preferably less than 6.5 gr.

In a preferred embodiment, any of the fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention have a MD tensile modulus (determined as described in the Test Methods below) of less than 35 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably less than 32 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably less than 30 N/5 cm/gsm, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a preferred embodiment, any of the fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) prepared according to this invention have a MD tensile modulus (determined as described in the Test Methods below) of less than 35 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably less than 32 N/5 cm/gsm, preferably less than 30 N/5 cm/gsm, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, fibers comprising the compositions prepared herein have good spinability (as defined above) in combination with outstanding fabric tensile properties (e.g., CD specific tensile strength) of at least 1.1 N/5 cm/gsm, a MD specific tensile strength of at least 2.7 N/5 cm/gsm, and a total hand of less than 6.8 gm force or a tensile modulus of less than 32 N/5 cm/gsm, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, fibers comprising the compositions prepared herein have good spinability (as defined above) in combination with a fabric tensile anisotropy (ratio of MD over CD specific tensile strength as determined by WSP 110.4 (05)) of less than 2.7, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, fibers comprising the compositions prepared herein have good spinability (as defined above) in combination with outstanding fabric tensile properties (e.g., CD specific tensile strength) of at least 1.2 N/5 cm/gsm, MD specific tensile strength of at least 2.9 N/5 cm/gsm, and total hand of less than 6.6 gm force or MD tensile modulus of less than 30 N, for a fabric basis weight in the range of 8 to 12 gsm produced at a line speed of at least 600 m/min, more preferably at least 700 m/min, and more preferably of at least 800 m/min.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the compositions prepared herein have excellent spinability (e.g., stable fabrication without breaks) particularly when thin (e.g., less than 18 microns or equivalently less than 2 denier) fibers are made.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a: 1) a ratio of CD elongation to CD peak strength of 40 or more, when measured at a speed of 200 mm/min and 100 mm gauge length (WSP 110.4 (05)), preferably 45 or more; and 2) a CD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0005(X)+1.46 (preferably 1.48, preferably 1.5, preferably 1.6), where X is the production line speed of the fabric is at least 400 m/min, provided the CD strength is at least 1.0 N/5 cm/gsm. CD peak elongation (also referred to as CD elongation) and CD peak strength (also referred to as CD strength) are determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min unless otherwise indicated.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a CD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0009(X)+1.965 (preferably 2.1, preferably 2.3), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. CD strength is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a CD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0009(X)+1.965 (preferably 2.1, preferably 2.3), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. CD strength is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a CD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0008(X)+1.85 (preferably 1.95), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. CD strength is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a MD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0007(X)+2.145 (preferably 2.4), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. MD strength (also referred to as MD peak strength) is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a MD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0006(X)+2.34 (preferably 2.4, preferably 2.5), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. MD strength (also referred to as MD peak strength) is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein have a MD strength of Y N/5 cm/gsm or more, where Y=−0.0007(X)+2.715 (preferably 2.8, preferably 2.9), where X is the production line speed of the fabric and is at least 400 m/min. MD strength (also referred to as MD peak strength) is determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min.

In another preferred embodiment, fibers or fabrics (such as nonwoven fabrics) made using the materials described herein are produced at a line speed of at least 500 m/min (preferably at least 600 m/min, at least 700 m/min, at least 800 m/min, at least 850 m/min, at least 900 m/min).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The fibers and fabrics of the invention have wide applicability spanning several industries. For example, fabrics of the invention may be used in the manufacture of hygiene products. Examples include diapers and feminine hygiene products. The fabrics of the invention are also useful for medical products. Examples include medical fabric for gowns, linens, towels, bandages, instrument wraps, scrubs, masks, head wraps, and drapes. Additionally, the fabrics of the invention are useful in the manufacture of consumer products. Examples include seat covers, domestic linens, tablecloths, and car covers. It is also contemplated that the inventive fabrics may make-up either a portion or a component of the articles described above.

The fibers and nonwoven webs prepared using the compositions of this invention can be formed into fabrics, garments, clothing, medical garments, surgical gowns, surgical drapes, diapers, training pants, sanitary napkins, panty liners, incontinent wear, bed pads, bags, packaging material, packages, swimwear, body fluid impermeable backsheets, body fluid impermeable layers, body fluid permeable layers, body fluid permeable covers, absorbents, tissues, nonwoven composites, liners, cloth linings, scrubbing pads, face masks, respirators, air filters, vacuum bags, oil and chemical spill sorbents, thermal insulation, first aid dressings, medical wraps, fiberfill, outerwear, bed quilt stuffing, furniture padding, filter media, scrubbing pads, wipe materials, hosiery, automotive seats, upholstered furniture, carpets, carpet backing, filter media, disposable wipes, diaper coverstock, gardening fabric, geomembranes, geotextiles, sacks, housewrap, vapor barriers, breathable clothing, envelopes, tamper evident fabrics, protective packaging, and coasters.

In a preferred embodiment, the compositions of this invention can be used for disposable diaper and napkin chassis construction, including: baby diaper leg elastic, diaper frontal tape, diaper standing leg cuff, diaper chassis construction, diaper core stabilization, diaper liquid transfer layer, diaper outer cover lamination, diaper elastic cuff lamination, feminine napkin core stabilization, and feminine napkin adhesive strip. The diaper may be of various suitable shapes. For example, the diaper may have an overall rectangular shape, T-shape, or an approximately hour-glass shape. Other suitable components which may be incorporated in a diaper comprising the compositions described herein include waist flaps and the like which are generally known to those skilled in the art. Examples of diaper configurations suitable for use in connection with the instant invention which may include other components suitable for use on diapers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,603; U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,668; U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,672; U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,606; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,915.

Preferably, the various components of a diaper comprising the fibers and non-wovens of this invention are assembled together employing various types of suitable attachment means, such as adhesive bonding, ultrasonic bonding, thermal point bonding, or combinations thereof. In the shown embodiment, for example, the topsheet and backsheet may be assembled to each other and to the liquid retention structure with lines of adhesive, such as a hot melt, pressure-sensitive adhesive.

In another embodiment, the fibers and or non-wovens of this invention are used in training pants. Various materials and methods for constructing the training pants are disclosed in WO 00/37009; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,464; U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,389; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,190.

The inventive composition is also advantageous in the production of molded parts exhibiting high flexural modulus, high tensile strength at yield and high heat distortion temperature, with or without the use of added nucleating agent.

Due to their unique combinations of rheological, crystallization, and tacticity parameters, the inventive compositions are also surprisingly useful in other applications requiring high melt strength and enhanced flow-induced crystallization kinetics, including, but not limited to, blow molded articles, foams, films (biaxial, blown film, cast film) etc., which provides a combination of improved processability and good balance of mechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength, elongation to break, puncture resistance, impact resistance etc.).

Test Methods

Melt Flow Rate (MFR), defined in gr of polymer per 10 min (g/10 min or its equivalent unit dg/min), was measured according to ASTM D1238 (2.16 kg, 230° C.).

Small angle oscillatory shear (SAOS) frequency sweep melt rheology experiments were performed at 190° C. using a 25 mm cone (1°) and plate configuration on an MCR301 controlled strain/stress rheometer (Anton Paar GmbH). Sample test disks (25 mm diameter, 1 mm thickness) were prepared via compression molding of pellet samples at 190° C. using a Schwabenthan laboratory press (200 T). Typical cycle for sample preparation is 1 minute without pressure followed by 1 5 minute under pressure (50 bars) and then cooling during 5 min between water cooled plates. The sample was first equilibrated at 190° C. for 13 min to erase any prior thermal and crystallization history. An angular frequency sweep was next performed from 500 rad/s to 0.0232 rad/s using 6 points/decade and a strain value of 10% lying in the linear viscoelastic region determined from strain sweep experiments. All experiments were performed in a nitrogen atmosphere to minimize any degradation of the sample during rheological testing.

For purposes of this invention and the claims thereto, the zero-shear-rate viscosity, η_(o), is defined from the frequency dependent storage (G′) and loss (G″) dynamic moduli and a discrete relaxation spectrum method based on a linear regression (as discussed in R. B. Bird, C. F. Curtiss, R. C. Armstrong, and O. Hassager, Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, 2nd Ed., (Wiley, New York, 1987), Vol. 1, and A. K. Doufas, L. Rice, W. Thurston, “Shear and Extensional Rheology of Polypropylene Melts: Experimental and Modeling Studies,” J. Rheology 55, 95-126 (2011)) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {\eta_{o} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}{\lambda_{j}G_{j}}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where M is the number of discrete relaxation modes that depend on the range of experimental angular frequencies as outlined in Bird et al. (1987), λ_(j) is a discrete relaxation time of the discrete spectrum and G_(j) is the corresponding shear modulus.

In case of compositions where the terminal zone (i.e., G′ proportional to ω² and G″ proportional to ω) has not been reached within the frequency range of the experiment thus the complex viscosity |η*| not reaching a plateau value, η_(o) should be measured via melt creep experiments as discussed in C. W. Macosko, Rheology Principles, Measurements and Applications (Wiley-VCH, New York, 1994) and Ansari et al., “Rheology of Ziegler-Natta and Metallocene High-Density Polyethylenes: Broad Molecular Weight Distribution Effects,” Rheol. Acta 50, 17-27, 2011. In all the examples presented in this invention, Eq. (1) for determination of the zero-shear-rate viscosity η_(o) was used. From the storage (G′) and loss (G″) dynamic moduli (C. W. Macosko, Rheology Principles, Measurements and Applications (Wiley-VCH, New York, 1994)), the loss tangent (tan δ) is defined as:

$\begin{matrix} {{\tan \; \delta} = {\frac{G^{''}}{G^{\prime}}.}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

The loss tangent, tan δ, especially at low angular frequencies (e.g., 0.1 rad/s), is a measure of melt elasticity and relates to the molecular characteristics (e.g., distribution of short and long chains, density of molecular entanglements, chain branching, etc.) of the composition. In the current invention, the first normal stress difference (N₁) at a steady shear flow of constant shear rate is determined as a function of the dynamic moduli, G′ and G″, as follows (H. M. Laun, “Prediction of elastic strains of polymer melts in shear and elongation,” J. Rheol. 30 459-501 (1986)):

$\begin{matrix} {\; {{N_{1}\left( \overset{.}{\gamma} \right)} = {{2{G^{\prime}\left\lbrack {1 + \left( \frac{G^{\prime}}{G^{''}} \right)^{2}} \right\rbrack}^{0.7}{for}\mspace{14mu} \omega} = \overset{.}{\gamma}}}} & (3) \end{matrix}$

where G′ and G″ refer to an angular frequency ω and the temperature of both SAOS and steady shear experiments is identical, N. Eq. (3) is referred to here as “Laun rule.” In the present invention, the steady shear stress τ_(yx) is calculated from the norm of the complex viscosity |η*| according to the Cox-Merz rule (W. P. Cox and E. H. Merz, “Correlation of dynamic and steady flow viscosities,” J. Polym. Sci. 28, 619-621 (1958)):

τ_(yx)({dot over (γ)})=ω|η*(ω)| for ω={dot over (γ)}  (4)

where the norm of the complex viscosity is calculated from G′ and G″ as a function of frequency ω as follows (C. W. Macosko, Rheology Principles, Measurements and Applications (Wiley-VCH, New York, 1994)):

$\begin{matrix} {{{\eta^{*}(\omega)}} = {\frac{\left( {G^{\prime 2} + G^{''2}} \right)^{1/2}}{\omega}.}} & (5) \end{matrix}$

The stress ratio (SR) is defined as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{SR}\left( \overset{.}{\gamma} \right)} = {\frac{N_{1}\left( \overset{.}{\gamma} \right)}{\tau_{yx}\left( \overset{.}{\gamma} \right)}.}} & (6) \end{matrix}$

Applicability of both Cox-Merz (Cox and Merz (1957)) and Laun (Laun (1986)) rules were demonstrated for a variety of polypropylene systems in Shear and Extensional Rheology of Polypropylene Melts: Experimental and Modeling Studies, Doufas et al., J. Rheol. 55, 95 (2011). Based on the above rheological properties, several rheological indexes are defined related to the molecular characteristics of the composition as follows:

Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁:

$\begin{matrix} {R_{1} = {\left( {{{SR}\left( {500\mspace{14mu} s^{- 1}} \right)}\eta_{o}} \right)/2040}} & (7) \end{matrix}$

where η_(o) (Eq. (1)) is in units of Pa·s.

Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂:

$\begin{matrix} {R_{2} = {\left( \frac{{{SR}\left( {500\mspace{14mu} s^{- 1}} \right)}\eta_{o}}{\tan \; {\delta \left( {0.1\mspace{14mu} {rad}\text{/}s} \right)}} \right)/248}} & (8) \end{matrix}$

where η_(o) (Eq. (1)) is in Pa·s.

Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃:

$\begin{matrix} {R_{3} = \frac{\eta_{o}}{\eta \left( {500\mspace{14mu} s^{- 1}} \right)}} & (9) \end{matrix}$

where the steady shear viscosity η(500 s⁻¹) is calculated from Eq. (5) and use of the Cox-Merz rule (W. P. Cox and E. H. Merz, “Correlation of dynamic and steady flow viscosities,” J. Polym. Sci. 28, 619-621 (1958).

Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄:

$\begin{matrix} {R_{4} = {\frac{\eta_{o}}{\tan \; {\delta \left( {0.1\mspace{14mu} {rad}\text{/}s} \right)}}/8.55}} & (10) \end{matrix}$

where η_(o)(Eq. (1)) is in units of Pa·s.

As mentioned, the loss tangent, tan δ, at low angular frequency (e.g., 0.1 rad/s) is sensitive to the molecular structure and relates to the melt longest relaxation time as well as creep related properties (e.g., steady state creep compliance and recoverable creep compliance) (C. W. Macosko, Rheology Principles, Measurements and Applications (Wiley-VCH, New York, 1994)). Therefore, the rheological indexes intrinsic to the composition, e.g., those defined in Equations (7)-(8), (10), can be in principle expressed in terms of the longest relaxation time and melt creep properties.

Crystallization via SAOS rheology: Crystallization was monitored via SAOS rheology, where the sample was cooled down from the molten state (at 190° C.) at a fixed cooling rate using a 25 mm parallel plate configuration on an ARES 2001 (TA Instruments) controlled strain rheometer. Sample test disks (25 mm diameter, 2.5 mm thickness) were made with a Carver Laboratory press at 190° C. Samples were allowed to sit without pressure for approximately 3 min in order to melt and then held under pressure for 3 min to compression mold the sample. The disks were originally approximately 2.5 mm thick; however, after sample trimming off the parallel plates, a gap of 1.9 mm between the plates was used. Thermal expansion of the tools was taken into account during SAOS testing to maintain a constant gap throughout the test. The sample was first heated from room temperature to 190° C. The sample was equilibrated at 190° C. (molten state) for 15 min to erase any prior thermal and crystallization history. The temperature was controlled reproducibly within±0.5° C. The sample was then cooled from 190° C. at a constant cooling rate of 1° C./min and an angular frequency of 1 rad/s using a strain of 1% lying in the linear viscoelastic region. For termination of the experiment, a maximum torque criterion was used. Upon the onset of crystallization during the rheological test, the instrument goes into an overload condition when maximum torque is reached and the test is stopped automatically. All experiments were performed in a nitrogen atmosphere to minimize any degradation of the sample during rheological testing. Crystallization was observed by a steep/sudden increase of the complex viscosity and a steep/sudden (step-like) decrease of the loss tangent tan δ (i.e., a plot of complex viscosity vs. temperature and loss tangent vs. temperature depict a neck-like region of sudden change in the rheological properties due to occurrence of crystallization). The “onset crystallization temperature via rheology,” T_(c,rheol) is defined as the temperature at which a steep (i.e., neck-like) increase of the complex viscosity and a simultaneous steep decrease of tan δ is observed. The reproducibility of T_(c,rheol) is within ±1° C. The reproducibility of the complex modulus and dynamic moduli as a function of temperature is within 3%.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

Peak crystallization temperature (T_(cp)), peak melting temperature (T_(mp)), and heat of fusion (ΔH_(f)) were measured via Differential Scanning calorimetry (DSC) on pellet samples using a DSCQ200 (TA Instruments) unit. The DSC was calibrated for temperature using four standards (tin, indium, cyclohexane, and water). The heat flow of indium (28.46 J/g) was used to calibrate the heat flow signal. A sample of 3 to 5 mg of polymer, typically in pellet form, was sealed in a standard aluminum pan with flat lids and loaded into the instrument at room temperature.

In the case of determination of T_(cp) and T_(mp) corresponding to 1° C./min cooling and heating rates, the following procedure was used. The sample was first equilibrated at 25° C. and subsequently heated to 200° C. using a heating rate of 20° C./min (first heat). The sample was held at 200° C. for 5 min to erase any prior thermal and crystallization history. The sample was subsequently cooled down to 95° C. with a constant cooling rate of 1° C./min (first cool). The sample was held isothermal at 95° C. for 5 min before being heated to 200° C. at a constant heating rate of 1° C./min (second heat). The exothermic peak of crystallization (first cool) was analyzed using the TA Universal Analysis software and the peak crystallization temperature (T_(cp)) corresponding to 1° C./min cooling rate was determined. The endothermic peak of melting (second heat) was also analyzed using the TA Universal Analysis software and the peak melting temperature (T_(mp)) corresponding to 1° C./min cooling rate was determined.

In the case of determination of T_(cp) and T_(mp) corresponding to 10° C./min cooling and heating rates, the following procedure was used. The sample was first equilibrated at 25° C. and subsequently heated to 200° C. using a heating rate of 10° C./min (first heat). The sample was held at 200° C. for 10 min to erase any prior thermal and crystallization history. The sample was subsequently cooled down to 25° C. with a constant cooling rate of 10° C./min (first cool). The sample was held isothermal at 25° C. for 10 min before being heated to 200° C. at a constant heating rate of 10° C./min (second heat). The exothermic peak of crystallization (first cool) was analyzed using the TA Universal Analysis software and the peak crystallization temperature (T_(cp)) corresponding to 10° C./min cooling rate was determined. The endothermic peak of melting (second heat) was also analyzed using the TA Universal Analysis software and the peak melting temperature (T_(mp)) corresponding to 10° C./min heating rate was determined.

In either method of determining crystallization and melting peak temperatures, the same cooling and heating rate (1° C./min or 10° C./min) was always kept during the second (cool) and third (heat) cycles, respectively. For example, in cases where T_(mp) is listed with its associated heating rate, it is implied that the cooling rate of the preceding cycle was at the same rate as the heating cycle. The percent crystallinity (X %) is calculated using the formula: [area under the DSC curve (in J/g)/H° (in J/g)]*100, where the area under the DSC curve refers here to the first cool cycle and H° is the heat of fusion for the homopolymer of the major monomer component. These values for H° are to be obtained from the Polymer Handbook, Fourth Edition, published by John Wiley and Sons, New York 1999, except that a value of 290 J/g is used as the equilibrium heat of fusion (H°) for 100% crystalline polyethylene, a value of 140 J/g is used as the equilibrium heat of fusion (H°) for 100% crystalline polybutene, and a value of 207 J/g (H°) is used as the heat of fusion for a 100% crystalline polypropylene.

In the present invention, the difference between the melting and crystallization peak temperatures (T_(mp)−T_(cp)) as measured by DSC (either at 1° C./min or 10° C./min temperature ramp rates) is referred to as “the supercooling range” and is expressed in ° C. The “supercooling limit,” SCL, is defined according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0113718, as follows:

SCL=0.907 T _(mp)−99.64   (11)

where T_(mp) and SCL are expressed in ° C. U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0113718 define SCL with T_(mp) corresponding to a heating rate of 10° C./min (second heat); however, in the present invention Eq. (11) is also used to define SCL at a heating rate of 1° C./min (second heat). The following parameter referred to as “supercooling parameter” SCP is defined here as follows:

SCP=T _(mp) −T _(cp)−SCL   (12)

where all parameters on the right hand side of Eq. (12) are expressed in ° C. and refer to either a temperature ramp rate of 1° C./min or 10° C./min as indicated. In Eq. (12), SCL is calculated from Eq. (11).

Molecular Weights (Mw, Mn, Mz and Mv) by Gel-Permeation Chromatography (GPC)

Molecular weight distributions were characterized using Gel-Permeation Chromatography (GPC), also referred to as Size-Exclusion Chromatography (SEC). Molecular weights (weight average molecular weight M_(w), number average molecular weight M_(n), Z average molecular weight M_(z), and viscosity average molecular weight M_(v)) were determined using High-Temperature Gel-Permeation Chromatography equipped with a Differential Refractive Index detector (DRI). Experimental details on the measurement procedure are described in the literature by T. Sun, P. Brant, R. R. Chance and W. W. Graessley, Macromolecules, Volume 34, No. 19, 6812-6820 (2001) and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769.

A Polymer Laboratories PL-GPC-220 high temperature SEC system with triple detection and three Polymer Laboratories PLgel 10 micron Mixed B columns was used. The three detectors in series are: Wyatt DAWN “EOS” MALLS 18 angle laser light scattering detector first, followed by the DRI detector and finally by the Differential Viscometer detector. The detector output signals are collected on Wyatt's ASTRA software and analyzed using a GPC analysis program. The detailed GPC conditions are listed in Table 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769. A theoretical basis for the data analysis can also be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769.

A nominal flow rate of 0.5 cm³/min, and a nominal injection volume of 300 mL were used. The various transfer lines, columns and differential refractometer (the DRI detector, used mainly to determine elution solution concentrations) are contained in an oven at 145° C. Standards and samples were prepared in inhibited TCB (1,2,4-trichlorobenzene) solvent. Four NBS polyethylene (PE) standards were used for calibrating the GPC. The PE standards were NIST 1482a; NIST 1483a; NIST1484a (narrow PE standards); and NIST 1475a (broad PE standards). The samples were accurately weighted and diluted to a 1.5 mg/mL concentration and recorded. The standards and samples were placed on a PL Labs 260 Heater/Shaker at 160° C. for two hours. These were filtered through a 2.0 micron steel filter cup and then analyzed.

The branching index (g′_(vis)) is calculated using the output of the SEC-DRI-LS-VIS method (described on page 37 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769 for g′) as follows. The average intrinsic viscosity, [η]_(avg), of the sample is calculated by:

$\begin{matrix} {\lbrack\eta\rbrack_{avg} = \frac{\sum{c_{i}\lbrack\eta\rbrack}_{i}}{\sum c_{i}}} & (13) \end{matrix}$

where the summations are over the chromatographic slices, i, between the integration limits. The branching index g′_(vis) is defined as:

$\begin{matrix} {g_{vis}^{\prime} = \frac{\lbrack\eta\rbrack_{avg}}{{kM}_{v}^{\alpha}}} & (14) \end{matrix}$

where, for purpose of this invention and claims thereto, α=0.695 and k=0.000579 for linear ethylene polymers, α=0.705 and k=0.0002288 for linear propylene polymers, and α=0.695 and k=0.000179 for linear butene polymers. The denominator of Eq. (12) represents the calculated theoretical intrinsic viscosity of a linear polymer. M_(v) is the viscosity-average molecular weight based on molecular weights determined by LS analysis.

Tacticity Determination by ¹³C NMR

Carbon NMR spectroscopy was used to measure meso pentads, stereo and regio defect concentrations in the polypropylene. Carbon NMR spectra were acquired with a 10-mm broadband probe on a Varian spectrometer having a ¹³C frequency of at least 100 MHz. The samples were prepared in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane-d2 (TCE). Sample preparation (polymer dissolution) was performed at 140° C. where 0.25 grams of polymer was dissolved in an appropriate amount of solvent to give a final polymer solution of 3 ml. In order to optimize chemical shift resolution, the samples were prepared without chromium acetylacetonate relaxation agent.

Chemical shift assignments for the stereo defects (given as stereo pentads) can be found in the literature (L. Resconi, L. Cavallo, A. Fait, and F. Piemontesi, Chem. Rev. 2000, 100, pages 1253-1345). The stereo pentads (e.g., mmmm, mmmr, mrm, etc.) can be summed appropriately to give a stereo triad distribution (mm, mr and rr) and the mole percentage diads (m and r). Three types of regio defects were quantified: 2,1-erythro, 2,1-threo and 3,1-insertion. The structures and peak assignments for these are also given in the reference by Resconi et al. The concentrations for all regio defects (punctuations) are given in terms of number of regio defects per 10,000 monomer units (D_(R)). Accordingly, the concentration of stereo defects (punctuations) is given as the number of stereo defects per 10,000 monomer units (D_(S)). The total number of defects per 10,000 monomers (D_(total)) is calculated as:

D _(total) =D _(S) +D _(R)   (15)

The average meso run length (MRL) represents the total number of propylene units (on the average) between defects (stereo and regio) based on 10,000 propylene monomers and is calculated as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{MRL} = {\frac{10{,000}}{D_{total}}.}} & (16) \end{matrix}$

The definition of MRL in this invention [Eq. (16)] is based upon the number of structural chain punctuations or defects that result from propylene insertions that have occurred in a non-regular fashion (stereo and regio defects). It does not include the punctuations due to the presence of comonomer (e.g., ethylene in a polypropylene random copolymer). The regio defects each give rise to multiple peaks in the carbon NMR spectrum, and these are all integrated and averaged (to the extent that they are resolved from the other peaks in the spectrum), to improve the measurement accuracy. The chemical shift offsets of the resolvable resonances used in the analysis are tabulated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,807,769. The average integral for each defect is divided by the integral for one of the main propylene signals (CH3, CH, CH2) and multiplied by 10,000 to determine the defect concentration per 10,000 monomers.

Bulk Physical Properties Measurements

The flexural modulus (1% secant flexural modulus) is measured according to ASTM D790A, using a crosshead speed of 1.27 mm/min (0.05 in/min) and a support span of 50.8 mm (2.0 in) using an Instron machine.

The tensile properties such as tensile strength at yield (also referred to here as yield stress) and elongation at yield (also referred to here as yield strain) were measured as per ASTM D638, with a crosshead speed of 50.8 mm/min (2.0 in/min) and a gauge length of 50.8 mm (2.0 in), using an Instron machine.

Heat distortion temperature (HDT) is measured according to ASTM D648 using a load of 0.45 MPa (66 psi) or 1.8 MPa (264 psi) as designated.

POY Fiber Testing

The total denier of the POY fibers expressed in grams per 9000 m of yarn is measured by determining the weight of 90 m of yarn which are winded off the fiber core using an Alfred Suter Co. denier wheel. An average denier per filament (dpf) is defined as the measured denier of the yarn over the number of filaments (72). Excellent agreement was found between the measured dpf and that calculated from the mass throughput per hole and take-up speed as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{dpf} = {\frac{9000\mspace{14mu} W}{\mu_{L}}.}} & (17) \end{matrix}$

Tensile testing of POY fibers was performed with a Textechno Statimat™ M unit which is a microprocessor based machine that tests the strength and elongation of yarns and fibers. The instrument used was specifically Statimat M, S/N 23523, CRE type equipped with software FPAM 0210E using a Microsoft operating system. For all tests, the gauge length was 100 mm and the stretching speed was 1270 mm/min.

Nonwoven Fabric Testing

Fabric basis weight defined as the mass of fabric per unit area was measured by weighing 3 12″×12″ fabric pieces and reporting an average value expressed in g/m² (gsm).

The fiber thickness is expressed as “denier” or equivalently as “denier per filament” (dpf) and is the weight in grams per 9000 meters of fiber as is commonly known in the art. The fiber diameter and denier per filament (dpf) were related in this invention according to the following equation based on the definition and the mass balance of the spinning process:

$\begin{matrix} {d = \sqrt{\frac{141471\mspace{14mu} {dpf}}{\rho}}} & (18) \end{matrix}$

where d is the diameter of a single fiber in units of microns and is the fiber density (taken in this invention as 900 kg/m³ for polypropylene).

Fibers were isolated and their diameter (thickness) was measured using the following method: a portion of spunbonded fibers (taken from the belt before entering the thermal bonding step) was carefully cut from a larger sample using a fresh double-edge razor blade and a small portion of the fiber sample was isolated for thickness measurement. Special care was taken to avoid elongation or deformation of fibers when handling. Fibers were mounted between a slide and coverslip in an immersion fluid and examined using the polarizing light microscope (Olympus BX50) equipped with a rotating stage, crossed polars, 20× objective lens, and digital camera (Optronics) driven by Media Cybernetics ImagePro image processing software. Fibers were examined under the following conditions: 90° crossed polars; condenser aperture fully open (to minimize diffraction effects that increase the apparent thickness of the fibers); fibers rotated to angle of maximum brightness. Digital images of 15 fibers were acquired and calibrated. Fiber diameters were measured to the nearest micrometer using Media Cybernetics ImagePro image processing software. Fiber denier (dpf) was subsequently calculated from the average measured fiber diameter d via Eq. (18).

Tensile properties of nonwoven fabrics such as tensile (peak) strength and % (peak) elongation in both machine (MD) and cross (CD) directions were measured according to standard method WSP 110.4 (05) with a gauge length of 200 mm and a testing speed of 100 mm/min, unless otherwise indicated. The width of the fabric specimen was 5 cm. For the tensile testing, an Instron machine was used (Model 5565) equipped with Instron Bluehill 2 (version 2.5) software for the data analysis. From the force-elongation tensile curves, the software reports a tensile modulus value (units of N/5 cm/gsm) in both MD and CD directions which is calculated according to the following algorithm:

-   1. search the data from the first data point to the maximum load     value; -   2. use the first data point and maximum load point as the start and     end values respectively; -   3. divide the data between the start and end values into 6 equal     regions with 0% overlap; -   4. apply a least square fit algorithm to all of the points in each     region to determine the slope of each region; -   5. determine the pair of consecutive regions that has the highest     slope sum; and -   6. from this pair, determine which region has the highest slope and     assigns the reported modulus value to that region.

A lower value of tensile modulus is indicative of a less stiff and softer fabric.

Softness or “hand” as it is known in the art, is measured using the Thwing-Albert Instruments Co. Handle-O-Meter (Model 211-10-B/AERGLA). The quality of “hand” is considered to be the combination of resistance due to the surface friction and flexibility of a fabric material. The Handle-O-Meter measures the above two factors using an LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) to detect the resistance that a blade encounters when forcing a specimen of material into a slot of parallel edges. A 3½ digit digital voltmeter (DVM) indicates the resistance directly in gram force. The “total hand” of a given fabric is defined as the average of 8 readings taken on two fabric specimens (4 readings per specimen). For each test specimen (5 mm slot width), the hand is measured on both sides and both directions (MD and CD) and is recorded in grams. A decrease in “total hand” indicates the improvement of fabric softness.

The Elmendorf tear strength (expressed in gr/gsm) of nonwoven fabrics was measured in both MD and CD directions with a Elmendorf tear machine (Thwing Albert Instrument Company) according to ASTM D 1922.

CD peak elongation (also referred to as CD elongation), and CD peak strength (also referred to as CD strength) are determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 100 mm and a testing speed of 200 mm/min. MD peak elongation (also referred to as MD elongation), and MD peak strength (also referred to as MD strength) are determined according to WSP 110.4 (05), using a gauge length of 100 mm and a testing speed of 200 mm/min.

Unless otherwise noted, all fabric tests described above were performed at least 20 days from the day of fabric manufacturing to ensure equilibration of properties and account for any effects that may alter the fabric properties over time.

EXAMPLES

A number of controlled rheology propylene polymers were explored, where a base PP resin with MFR of approx. 0.5 to 5 dg/min and preferably from 0.8 to 3 dg/min was peroxide cracked (controlled-rheology propylene polymers) in an extruder to obtain a final MFR in the range of 10 to 25 dg/min. It was surprisingly found that resins with a certain range of the key melt rheological, crystallization and tacticity parameters described below exhibited the unexpected combination of excellent spinability and high fiber/fabric strength even at low basis weight fabrics (e.g., <15 g/m²).

Materials

A propylene polymer PP-1 was treated according to the peroxide visbreaking procedure described below to obtain the inventive compositions of Examples 1 to 8. PP-1 is reactor grade Ziegler-Natta propylene homopolymer in pellet form having a MFR of 2 dg/min, M_(w)/M_(n) of 4.3 and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 164.3° C. PP-1 contains an additive package typical of that used in spunmelt nonwoven applications, e.g., as disclosed in WO 2010/087921.

The composition of Example 9 is an extruder (physical) blend of two propylene polymers: A and B in weight ratio of 60/40. Polymer A with an MFR of 13 dg/min was obtained in pellet form from peroxide visbreaking treatment of propylene polymer PP-2 according to the procedure described below. PP-2 is a reactor grade Ziegler-Natta propylene homopolymer having a MFR of 4.5 dg/min, M_(w)/M_(n) of 4.7 and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 165° C. Polymer B having an MFR of 40 dg/min was obtained in pellet form from peroxide visbreaking treatment of propylene polymer PP-3 according to the procedure described below. PP-3 is a reactor grade Ziegler-Natta propylene-ethylene random copolymer of 2.75% by weight in ethylene with an MFR of 1.7 dg/min. After extruder blending of pelletized polymers A and B in a weight ratio of 60/40, the polymer of Example 9 was obtained with an MFR of 23.5 dg/min and an ethylene content of 1.3% by weight determined by ¹³C NMR.

Example 20 is a blend of a controlled rheology homo-polypropylene available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston Tex. under the tradename PP3155 and propylene polymer PP1 (both in pellet form) in a weight ratio of 70/30 compounded on a 92 mm twin screw extruder.

Inventive Example 21 is a blend of a controlled rheology homo-polypropylene available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. under the tradename PP3155 (MFR of 35 dg/min) and propylene polymer PP1 (both in pellet form) in a weight ratio of 70/30, compounded on a 30 mm twin screw extruder.

Example 22 is a controlled rheology (visbroken) propylene polymer whose base polymer is a blend of a homo-polypropylene available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. under the tradename PP5341E1 (MFR of 0.8 dg/min) and propylene polymer PP1 (both in pellet form) in a weight ratio of 25/75. The base polymer (blend) was treated according to the peroxide visbreaking procedure on a 30 mm twin screw extruder to obtain the inventive compositions of Example 22.

Example 23 is a controlled rheology (visbroken) propylene polymer whose polymer is a reactor grade homopolymer polypropylene available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. under the tradename PP5341E1 (MFR of 0.8 dg/min) in pellet form. The base polymer was treated according to the peroxide visbreaking procedure on a 30 mm twin screw extruder to obtain the inventive compositions of Example 23.

Comparative Examples 10-12 relate to Ziegler-Natta controlled-rheology propylene homopolymers having a MFR of 36 to 39 dg/min and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 163° C. available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. under the tradename PP 3155E3.

Comparative Example 13 relates to metallocene reactor grade propylene homopolymer having a MFR of 24 dg/min and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 152.5° C. available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. under the tradename Achieve™ 3854.

Comparative Examples 14 and 15 represent metallocene propylene homopolymer having a melt flow index (230° C., 2.16 kg ISO 1133) of 15 dg/min and a Tm of 153° C. available from Total Petrochemicals, Feluy, Belgium under the tradename Lumicene™ MR 2002.

Comparative Examples 16 and 17 represent Ziegler-Natta controlled-rheology propylene homopolymer having an MFR of 18 dg/min and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 165° C. available from Borealis Group, Port Murray, N.J. under the tradename HF420FB.

Comparative Example 18 is a Ziegler-Natta controlled rheology propylene homopolymer having an MFR of 13.5 dg/min and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 163.7° C. available from Lyondell Basell, Houston, Tex. under the tradename Moplen™ HP552N.

Comparative Example 19 is a Ziegler-Natta controlled rheology propylene homopolymer having an MFR of 17 dg/min and a T_(mp) (10° C./min) of 164.7° C. available from Lyondell Basell, Houston, Tex. under the tradename Moplen™ PP567P.

Visbreaking Procedure

The starting propylene polymers were peroxide visbroken (cracked) on a 92 mm twin screw extruder (ZSK 92, Werner Pfleiderer) at a production rate of 3,000 lbs/hr and a screw speed of 440 rpm. A peroxide level of 200 to 500 ppm Lupersol™ 101 (2,5-bis(tert-butylperoxy)-2,5-dimethylhexane) was used to crack the starting polymers (inventive Examples 1-9) to a higher MFR (see Table 1). The starting propylene polymers are described under “Materials” above. The extruder had two feeders, one for polymer and one for the peroxide visbreaking agent. The set temperature of the extruder zones and the die was in the range of 190° C. to 220° C., while the melt temperature was in the range of 200° C. to 215° C. depending on the starting propylene polymer and targeted final MFR. A standard 100 mesh wire (150 microns nominal porosity) was used for all extruder runs. In each example, pellets were produced with a density in the range of 40 to 50 ppg (pellets per gram) using an underwater pelletizer.

The polymer properties of the inventive and comparative compositions are reported in Tables 1-7 below.

TABLE 1 Examples Reactor (R) or Controlled Final Composition MFR Example Rheology (CR) (dg/min) 1 CR 16.5 2 CR 17.0 3 CR 17.0 4 CR 17.0 5 CR 16.7 6 CR 13.0 7 CR 14.2 8 CR 19.0 9 CR 23.5 10 CR 35.0 11 CR 39.0 12 CR 37.0 13 R 24.0 14 R 15.8 15 R 14.4 16 CR 17.7 17 CR 18.6 18 CR 13.5 19 CR 17.0 20 CR (Blend) 16.7 21 CR (Blend) 15.6 22 CR (Blend) 15.3 23 CR 16.1

TABLE 2 Rheological properties of inventive and comparative compositions including rheology indexes and onset crystallization temperature under flow determined via SAOS rheology. tanδ @ 0.1 SR @ Rheology Rheology Rheology Rheology T_(c, rheol) Example η_(o) (Pa · s) rad/s 500 s⁻¹ Index R₁ Index R₂ Index R₃ Index R₄ (° C.) 1 1362.1 47.1 3.68 2.5 4.3 8.2 3.4 140.0 2 1422.4 41.3 3.68 2.6 5.1 8.3 4.0 140.0 3 1293.1 56.2 3.67 2.3 3.4 8.1 2.7 137.0 4 1469.8 50.1 3.74 2.7 4.4 8.3 3.4 140.0 5 1435.5 49.1 3.68 2.6 4.3 8.1 3.4 132.0 6 1737.1 34.9 3.95 3.4 7.9 9.6 5.8 138.0 7 1612.1 42.3 3.86 3.0 5.9 9.1 4.5 132.0 8 1211.2 63.1 3.49 2.1 2.7 7.3 2.2 132.0 9 1090.5 45.5 3.31 1.8 3.2 7.5 2.8 136.0 10 702.6 82.1 2.90 1.0 1.0 5.6 1.0 128.0 11 706.9 71.1 2.88 1.0 1.2 5.6 1.2 130.0 12 694.0 87.4 2.90 1.0 0.9 5.8 0.9 136.5 13 952.6 161.3 3.30 1.5 0.8 5.1 0.7 124.0 14 1284.5 58.2 3.63 2.3 3.2 6.9 2.6 125.0 15 1404.5 63.1 4.39 3.0 3.9 6.1 2.6 124.5 16 1392.2 52.6 3.54 2.4 3.8 7.7 3.1 126.0 17 1223.9 53.8 4.38 2.6 4.0 6.5 2.7 129.0 18 2319.0 12.6 4.03 4.6 29.9 14.5 21.5 130.0 19 1456.9 48.9 3.70 2.6 4.4 8.3 3.5 128.5 20 1941.1 14.3 4.87 4.6 26.7 10.6 15.9 132.0 21 2041.3 14.5 4.88 4.9 27.7 11.0 16.5 137.0 22 1319.5 70.1 4.97 3.2 3.8 6.7 2.2 132.0 23 1810.0 42.5 4.2 3.7 7.1 9.9 5.0. 129.0

FIG. 1 depicts the evolution of the loss tangent (tan δ) under a cooling SAOS rheological experiment according to the “Crystallization via SAOS rheology” method described above. As shown in FIG. 1 and Table 12, the inventive compositions advantageously depict a high crystallization temperature under SAOS rheological conditions (e.g., T_(c,rheol)>131° C. and more preferably higher than 135° C.) over all comparative compositions of the prior art. The high value of T_(c,rheol) are hypothesized to lead to faster flow/stress-induced crystallization kinetics under fiber spinning conditions leading to more stable spinability and favorable crystalline microstructure leading to outstanding balance of fabric mechanical properties as described below. In FIG. 2, the corresponding profiles of the complex viscosity with temperature for certain illustrative compositions are depicted. With decrease of temperature, the complex viscosity increases in a linear function in a log-linear plot. However, below a certain temperature, the complex viscosity abruptly increases due to occurrence of crystallization under SAOS flow.

TABLE 3 Thermal (DSC) properties of inventive and comparative compositions at a heating and cooling rate of 1° C./min. T_(c,p) T_(m,p) ΔH_(cryst) SCL SCP Example (° C.) (° C.) (cal/g) (° C.) (° C.) 1 134.7 167.7 108.2 52.5 −19.5 2 134.4 165.1 105.2 50.1 −19.4 3 131.4 166.8 106.5 51.6 −16.3 4 130.1 164.7 106.4 49.7 −15.1 5 126.0 163.8 94.2 48.9 −11.1 6 134.4 167.7 105.0 52.4 −19.2 7 126.3 163.1 93.6 48.3 −11.5 8 126.2 163.5 113.0 48.7 −11.3 9 131.6 164.6 84.8 49.7 −16.7 10 122.3 170.2 91.1 54.7 −6.8 11 130.7 163.4 97.1 48.5 −15.9 12 132.6 166.7 96.3 51.5 −17.5 13 115.9 152.5 88.7 38.7 −2.0 14 119.2 154.0 87.6 40.0 −5.3 15 116.0 152.7 82.6 38.9 −2.1 16 120.7 169.1 100.8 53.7 −5.3 17 120.5 167.4 97.6 52.2 −5.3 18 126.8 164.7 101.9 49.8 −11.9 19 124.7 163.5 100.3 48.7 −9.9 20 127.5 163.9 108.1 49.0 −12.6 21 132.51 167.1 109.6 51.9 −17.3 22 127.89 165.1 100.4 50.1 −12.9 23 125 162.6 99.3 47.9 −10.2 * The supercooling limit SCL is calculated according to Eq. (11) with T_(mp) at 1° C./min. * The supercooling parameter SCP is calculated according to Eq. (12) with T_(mp) and T_(cp) at 1° C./min.

TABLE 4 Thermal (DSC) properties of inventive and comparative compositions at a heating and cooling rate of 10° C./min. T_(c,p) T_(m,p) ΔH_(cryst) SCL SCP Example (° C.) (° C.) (cal/g) (° C.) (° C.) 1 122.7 164.5 96.3 49.5 −7.8 2 120.1 163.3 101.0 48.5 −5.3 3 120.2 164.0 110.8 49.1 −5.3 4 119.7 163.6 101.4 48.8 −4.8 5 116.4 160.3 110.0 45.7 −1.9 6 123.5 163.7 106.7 48.9 −8.6 7 115.9 161.3 106.0 46.7 −1.3 8 118.5 161.8 106.3 47.1 −3.8 9 120.4 160.3 95.6 45.7 −5.9 10 110.9 158.7 102.3 44.3 3.5 11 123.2 162.7 105.7 47.9 −8.5 12 121.3 165.0 109.7 50.0 −6.3 13 109.0 149.4 89.3 35.9 4.5 14 107.3 151.2 90.6 37.5 6.4 15 107.4 150.9 92.4 37.3 6.3 16 109.4 164.9 95.9 49.9 5.5 17 110.5 163.8 89.0 48.9 4.4 18 116.7 163.7 101.6 48.9 −1.9 19 116.4 164.7 99.7 49.7 −1.4 20 119.5 163.4 102.8 48.6 −4.7 21 121.8 162.1 101.2 47.4 −7.1 22 115.5 160.8 94.4 46.2 −0.9 23 114.2 160.1 95.7 45.5 0.4 * The supercooling limit SCL is calculated according to Eq. (11) with T_(mp) at 10° C./min. * The supercooling parameter SCP is calculated according to Eq. (12) with T_(mp) and T_(cp) at 10° C./min.

TABLE 5 Molecular weight (GPC) and intrinsic viscosity data of inventive and comparative compositions. M_(z) M_(v) Example M_(w) M_(n) (kg/ (kg/ M_(w)/ M_(z)/ Intrinsic Viscosity (kg/mol) (kg/mol) mol) mol) M_(n) M_(w) (dg/l) 1 204.9 71.7 367.1 184.8 2.86 1.79 1.249 2 202.9 73.8 377.8 182.7 2.75 2.12 1.194 3 207.1 76.1 372.6 186.9 2.72 1.80 1.198 4 5 203.9 65.6 376.7 183.6 3.11 1.85 1.222 6 205.4 71.5 360.1 185.4 2.87 1.75 1.245 7 209.4 61.2 382.4 187.8 3.42 1.83 1.248 8 190.5 58.2 344.9 171.6 3.27 1.81 1.170 9 190.6 56.3 395.4 168.0 3.40 2.07 1.140 10 183.3 62.9 358.0 164.1 2.92 1.95 1.153 11 12 196.8 62.4 409.6 173.9 3.15 2.08 1.140 13 188.9 81.9 288.8 175.0 2.31 1.53 1.148 14 198.7 90.5 313.7 183.7 2.20 1.58 1.185 15 201.0 83.5 307.0 186.5 2.41 1.53 1.220 16 220.1 72.4 410.6 197.1 3.04 1.87 1.261 17 202.5 62.2 382.3 181.1 3.26 1.89 1.212 18 220.9 52.3 520.9 191.0 4.23 2.36 1.239 19 195.8 53.6 359.2 175.4 3.65 1.84 1.161 20 226.6 56.3 628.4 195.5 4.02 2.77 1.315 21 231.7 61.1 641.1 199.3 3.79 2.77 1.330 22 206.8 60.4 384.5 185.1 3.43 1.86 1.238 23 212.5 65.7 382.0 191.2 3.24 1.80 1.276

TABLE 6 ¹³C NMR tacticity data of inventive and comparative compositions % Stereo Regio Average Molar Defects/ Defects/ Total Meso Meso 10,000 10,000 Defects/ Run Pentads Propylene Propylene 10,000 Example Length (mmmm) Monomers Monomers Monomers 1 106.6 0.952 93 1  94 2 100.7 0.948 99 0  99 3 97.3 0.956 103 0 103 4 103.2 0.948 96 1  97 5 112.4 0.952 88 1  89 6 105.3 0.954 95 0  95 7 110.3 0.951 90 1  91 8 102.6 0.949 97 1  98 9 91.0 0.909 110 0 110** 10 105.3 0.952 95 0  95 11 103.0 0.952 97 0  97 12 103.0 0.950 97 0  97 13 68.1 0.947 109 35 144 14 91.4 0.990 23 85 108 15 81.1 0.981 44 79 122 16 67.3 0.924 149 0 149 17 60.4 0.918 164 2 166 18 95.1 0.946 105 0 105 19 67.7 0.928 146 2 148 20 90.0 0.946 110 2 112 21 100.0 0.955 100 0 100 22 73.0 0.928 137 0 137 23 57.0 0.910 174 0 174 *The average meso run length (MSL) is calculated according to Eq. (16). **Total defects for Example 9 represent the sum of structural chain punctuations or defects (stereo and regio defects) per 10,000 propylene monomers but do not include defects due to the presence of ethylene in this sample.

TABLE 7 Bulk Physical properties data of inventive and comparative compositions. 1% Secant Yield Flexural Stress % Yield HDT at 66 HDT at 264 Example Modulus (kpsi) (psi) Strain psi (° C.) psi (° C.) 1 210 5091 10.0 106.8 58.7 3 209 5022 10.0 103.3 59.6 5 218 5022 9.5 96.6 57.6 7 215 5002 9.5 99.1 57.0 8 219 5076 9.5 99.4 58.1 12 213 5096 9.5 106.9 60.0 13 192 4663 9.2 98.3 56.6 15 199 4839 9.0 99.2 57.2 17 187 4573 11.4 88.5 53.5

The above polymer compositions were then formed into fibers and nonwovens according to the following procedures:

Fiber Spinning (Partially Oriented Yarns)

Fiber spinning experiments were implemented on a Hills pilot line equipped with a Davis Standard 1½ inches extruder and a spinneret of 72 holes each of diameter of 0.60 mm. The polymer pellets were melted and extruded into a metering pump at the desired throughput rate. Melt temperature at the die was kept at 237° C. for all resins for consistency, unless otherwise indicated. The quench air system was kept off. Throughput per hole was set at 0.53 gr/min/hole (ghm). Two take-up speeds were explored: 1500 and 3500 m/min as indicated. Under these conditions, fiber denier per filament (dpf) was 3.2 and 1.4 according to Eq. (17) for a take-up speed 1500 m/min and 3500 m/min, respectively. The fiber samples were drawn on a godet roll set at the desired take-up speed and the fibers were collected on a core using a winder. No additional drawing step was performed. Tensile properties of the as-spun fibers are shown in Table 8.

As seen in Table 8, the inventive compositions overall give an excellent balance of fiber tenacity and elongation to break relative to compositions of prior art. For example, inventive composition of Example 5 gives significantly higher elongation to break (108%) relative to comparative composition of Example 15 (81%) at similar fiber tenacity for both compositions (˜3 g/dpf) at a fiber denier of 1.3 dpf. Inventive Composition 21 provides unexpectedly very high fiber % elongation (˜171%) at high fiber tenacity (˜2.9 g/dpf) for 1.3 dpf.

Spinability was assessed via a “ramp to break” experiment according to which spinning starts at 2000 m/min and is increased at a fixed acceleration rate (480 m/min²) until fiber breakage, while all other processing conditions are kept constant. The speed at which fiber breaks are observed is referred to as max spin speed. Each ramp to break test was performed at a throughput of 0.53 ghm and 0.32 ghm. From the max spin speed and throughput per hole, one can estimate the minimum denier per filament that can be produced for a given resin before breakage according to Eq. (17) above. Excellent spinability is defined here as the ability of a certain composition to produce fibers of minimum dpf less than 2.0 and preferably less than 1.5 at a throughput range of 0.32 to 0.52 ghm. The results of the ramp to break experiments are shown in Table 9.

As depicted in Table 9, the inventive compositions present excellent spinability attested by their ability to make thin fibers of less than 1.5 dpf for a throughput range of 0.32 to 0.52 ghm.

TABLE 8 Tensile properties (tenacity and elongation at break) of POY fibers for inventive and comparative examples. Average dpf Tenacity % Elongation Tenacity % Elongation (0.53 ghm, (g/dpf) (0.53 at Break (0.53 Average dpf (g/dpf) (0.53 at Break (0.53 1500 ghm, 1500 ghm, 1500 (0.53 ghm, ghm, 3500 ghm, 3500 Example m/min) m/min) m/min) 3500 m/min) m/min) m/min) 1 3.1 2.8 226.8 1.2 2.95 110.0 5 3.1 2.69 218.6 1.3 3.00 107.9 7 3.1 2.67 196.1 1.4 2.49 91.1 8 3.1 2.66 205.2 1.3 2.93 114.9 12  3.0 2.63 211.4 1.3 2.94 96.5 13* 3.0 2.98 168.3 1.3 4.11 52.0 15  3.0 3.04 196.2 1.3 3.18 80.6 17  3.0 2.83 217.9 1.4 3.00 108.2 21* 2.9 2.01 318.7 1.3 2.87 171.4 *The melt temperature for Examples 13 and 21 was 265.5° C.

TABLE 9 Maximum (break) spin speed and minimum achievable denier per filament (dpf) for POY fiber spinning for inventive and comparative examples. Max Spin Min Max Spin Min dpf Speed (m/min) dpf at Speed (m/min) at 0.32 Example at 0.53 ghm 0.53 ghm at 0.32 ghm ghm  1 5000 0.9 4100 0.7  5 4300 1.1 3500 0.8  7 3600 1.3 2500 1.2  8 4200 1.1 3400 0.8 12 5000 0.9 4250 0.7 13* 4500 1.0 3500 0.8 15 5000 0.9 4100 0.7 17 4900 1.0 4050 0.7 20 3975 1.2 2825 1.0 21* 4970 0.9 2900 1.0 *The melt temperature for Examples 13 and 21 was 265.5° C..

Spunbond Nonwoven Fabrics

Spunbonded nonwoven fabrics were produced on a Reicofil 4 (R4) line with 3 spunbond (SSS) of 1.1 m width each having a spinneret of 6300 holes with a hole (die) diameter of 0.6 mm. For a detailed description of Reicofil spunbonding process, please refer to EP 1 340 843 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,750. The throughput per hole was 0.53 ghm. The quench air temperature was 20° C. for all experiments. Under these conditions, fibers of 1 to 1.4 denier were produced, equivalent to a fiber diameter of 12 to 15 microns (Eq. (18)) above. Line speed was kept constant at 900 m/min. Targeted fabric basis weight for all examples was 10 g/m² (gsm).

The formed fabric was thermally bonded by compressing it through a set of two heated rolls (calenders) for improving fabric integrity and improving fabric mechanical properties. Fundamentals of the fabric thermal bonding process can be found in the review paper by Michielson et al. “Review of Thermally Point-bonded Nonwovens: Materials, Processes, and Properties”, J. Applied Polym. Sci. Vol. 99, pp. 2489-2496 (2005) or the paper by Bhat et al. “Thermal Bonding of Polypropylene Nonwovens: Effect of Bonding Variables on the Structure and Properties of the Fabrics,” J. Applied Polym. Sci., Vol. 92, pp. 3593-3600 (2004). The two rolls are referred to as “embossing” and S rolls. In Table 10, the set temperature of the two calenders is listed corresponding to the set oil temperature used as the heating medium of the rolls. The calender temperature was measured on both embossing and S rolls using a contact thermocouple and was typically found to be 10° C. to 20° C. lower than the set oil temperature. All three spunbonding beams had similar operating conditions. Representative operating conditions are summarized in Table 10. In a typical trial, after establishing stable spinning conditions, the calender temperature was varied to create the bonding curve (i.e., tensile strength versus calender temperature). Under the conditions of Table 10, the spinability of the inventive compositions was assessed to be excellent.

In Table 11, the fabric tensile properties are summarized corresponding to the calender temperatures resulting in the maximum CD tensile strength. At severe processing conditions of high line speed (900 m/min), high throughput (˜0.53 ghm) and low basis weight (10 gsm) that are expected to deteriorate the mechanical properties of the fabrics, most inventive compositions surprisingly depicted high specific tensile strength in both MD and CD directions (higher than 2.7 N/5 cm/gsm in MD and higher than 1.1 N/5 cm/gsm in CD). The inventive compositions have advantageously lower tensile strength anisotropy (e.g., lower than 2.6), e.g., 2.9 for comparative composition of Example 15 and 3.2 for comparative composition of Example 13.

In Table 12, it is shown that the compositions of the present invention lead to advantageously softer fabrics as attested by both a lower tensile modulus (particularly MD modulus) and lower total hand.

Elmendorf tear strength for inventive and comparative examples for both MD and CD fabric directions is shown in Table 13. The inventive compositions produce fabrics of overall comparable or higher tear strength over those of compositions of prior art.

TABLE 10 Processing conditions of non-woven spunbonding fabrics of inventive and comparative examples. In all cases, 3 spunbonding beams were used (SSS) with a line speed of 900 m/min and a nominal fabric basis weight of 10 g/m². Calender Set Melt Air Temperatures Temperature Throughput Cabin Volume For Maximum Filament at the Die per hole Pressure Ratio CD Tensile Example Denier (° C.) (g/min/hole) (psi) V₁/V₂ Strength (° C.) 1 1.3 257 0.53 5300 0.12 176/165 4 1.2 257 0.52 5300 0.12 184/165 5 1.3 259 0.53 5300 0.13 180/165 9 1.1 260 0.52 5000 0.15 164/160 10 1.2 241 0.52 7000 0.11 169/165 11 N/A 235 0.52 5500 0.15 168/164 13 1.2 231 0.52 7200 0.12 162/159 15 1.3 259 0.53 5300 0.21 186/171

TABLE 11 Fabric tensile strength properties for inventive and comparative examples. The fabric tensile data correspond to fabrics produced at the calender set temperatures of Table 10 resulting in the maximum CD tensile strength. MD Specific CD Specific MD % CD % Fabric Tensile Tensile Tensile Elon- Elon- Basis Strength at Strength at Strength gation gation Ex- Weight Peak Load Peak Load Anisotropy at Peak at Peak ample (gsm) (N/5 cm/gsm) (N/5 cm/gsm) MD/CD Load Load 1 9.5 3.19 1.22 2.61 45.8 63.3 4 9.8 2.68 1.14 2.35 35.1 60.4 5 9.7 3.01 1.16 2.58 39.5 66.4 9 10.2 2.55 0.96 2.65 47.8 64.5 10 10.7 2.39 0.97 2.46 35.1 55.7 11 10.0 2.76 0.93 2.97 44.2 59.0 13 9.8 2.73 0.85 3.23 24.3 39.0 15 9.9 3.35 1.14 2.93 39.0 55.3

TABLE 12 Fabric stiffness and softness related properties for inventive and comparative examples. The listed properties correspond to fabrics produced at the calender set temperatures of Table 10 resulting in the maximum CD tensile strength. CD Tensile MD Tensile Modulus MD CD Total Modulus (N/5 Hand Hand Hand Example (N/5 cm/gsm) cm/gsm) (gr) (gr) (gr) 1 19.0 2.8 8.65 3.63 6.14 4 26.0 2.6 9.25 4.40 6.83 5 32.1 2.4 8.55 3.70 6.13 9 23.8 1.9 7.75 3.03 5.39 10 23.8 2.5 8.70 3.33 6.01 11 28.9 2.5 9.05 3.83 6.44 13 37.1 3.5 10.28 3.65 6.96 15 36.2 2.8 9.88 3.90 6.89

TABLE 13 Fabric Elmendorf tear strength for inventive and comparative examples. The listed properties correspond to fabrics produced at the calender set temperatures of Table 10 resulting in maximum CD tensile strength. MD Elmendorf Tear CD Elmendorf Tear Example Strength (gr/gsm) Strength (gr/gsm) 1 10.7 17.2 4 8.7 15.0 5 9.9 13.5 9 8.5 13.7 10 7.5 16.0 11 N/A N/A 13 12.8 16.5 15 11.5 16.7

Additional Fabric Properties

Tear properties of fabrics on tongue-shaped test pieces, was determined by DIN EN ISO 13937-4. Nonwoven trapezoid tear resistance was determined by DIN EN ISO 9073-4. Determination of breaking strength and elongation of nonwoven materials using the grab tensile test was obtained according to DIN EN ISO 9073-18. The bursting strength of fabrics, pneumatic method of determination of bursting strength and bursting distension, was determined according to DIN EN ISO 13938-2. Abrasion resistance of fabrics was determined by the Martindale method (DIN EN ISO 12947-2). Nonwoven bending length was determined by DIN EN ISO 9073-7. Drapability of nonwovens, including drape coefficient, was determined by DIN EN ISO 9073-9.

Three polymer compositions, a polymer having an MFR of 16.5 dg/min made using the same procedure as Example 1 (referred to as EX1-A), Lumicene™ MR2002, and PP3155, were formed into nonwoven fabrics according to the general procedure for Spunbond Nonwoven Fabrics detailed above including that 3 spunbonding beams were used (SSS) with a line speed of 900 m/min and a nominal fabric basis weight of 10 g/m². Specific process conditions are listed in Table A below.

TABLE A Processing conditions of non-woven spunbonding fabrics. In all cases, 3 spunbonding beams were used (SSS) with a line speed of 900 m/min and a nominal fabric basis weight of 10 g/m². Calender Set Melt Air Temperatures Filament Temperature Throughput Cabin Volume For Maximum Denier at the Die per hole Pressure Ratio CD Tensile Example Resin (dpf) (° C.) (g/min/hole) (psi) V₁/V₂ Strength (° C.) A-1 EX1-A 1.3 258 0.53 5300 0.14 180/165 A-2 Lumicene 1.3 259 0.53 5300 0.21 182/171 MR 2002 A-3 EX1-A N/A 245 0.53 4500 0.25 168/165 A-4 Lumicene 1.4 259 0.53 5300 0.21 176/171 MR 2002 A-5 PP3155 1.4 235 0.53 5500 0.25 168/164

Grab Tensile data, reported in Table B below were obtained according to the procedure in DIN EN 9073-18. Tongue tear data, reported in Table C, were determined according to DIN EN ISO 9073-4. Burst strength, reported in Table C, were obtained according to ISO 13938-2 1999.

TABLE B Fabric Grab Tensile Properties MD MD MD CD CD CD Grab Grab Length Grab Grab Length Fabric Tensile Tensile Change MD % Tensile Tensile Change CD % Basis Peak Peak at Peak Elongation Peak Peak at Peak Elongation Weight Load Load Load at Peak Load Load Load at Peak Example (gsm) (N) (N/gsm) (mm) Load (N) (N/gsm) (mm) Load A-1 9.8 40.64 4.15 35.1 46.5 21.05 2.15 58.4 76.3 A-2 9.8 41.53 4.24 29.8 39.5 20.7 2.11 57.8 75.6 A-3 9.8 37.53 3.83 33.7 44.7 19.04 1.94 52.6 69.1 A-4 9.7 42.92 4.42 32.1 42.6 21.07 2.17 50.3 66.1 A-5 10.4 34.65 3.33 31.7 42.1 18.24 1.75 52.1 67.9

TABLE C Fabric Tongue Tear and Burst Strength CD Tear Max MD Tear Max Bursting Burst Height Example Force (N) Force (N) Strength (kPa) (mm) A-1 9.2 7.8 28.5 31.1 A-2 9.3 8.0 21.8 28.5 A-3 9.4 8.8 31.0 32.5 A-4 9.4 9.1 31.9 30.7 A-5 7.8 5.8 26.9 31.8

A polymer having an MFR of 16.5 dg/min made using the same procedure as Example 1 (referred to as EX1-A), Achieve™ 3854, and Lumicene™ MR 2002 were formed into fabrics and then tested for various physical properties. The data are reported in Tables D and E. Achieve™ 3854 is a metallocene propylene homopolymer having a

MFR of 24 dg/min available from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Tex. Lumicene™ MR 2002 is a metallocene propylene homopolymer having a melt flow index (230° C., 2.16 kg ISO 1133) of 15 dg/min and a Tm of 153° C. available from Total Petrochemicals, Feluy, Belgium. The fabrics were formed by the spunbonded nonwoven fabric process and conditions described above at a nominal fabric basis weight of 10 gsm, except that fabrics produced at a line speed of 300 m/min used one spunbond beam.

TABLE D Fabric tensile properties per WSP 110.4 (05) at low (300 m/min) and high (900 m/min) spunbond line speed conditions. Tensile testing Fabric CD MD CD Peak MD Peak conditions: 100 m/min, basis Strength Strength Elong- Elong- 200 mm gauge weight (N/5 (N/5 ation ation length (gsm) cm/gsm) cm/gsm) (%) (%) PP3155 (300 m/min) 10.1 1.27 2.35 51. 42.9 PP3155 (900 m/min) 10.3 0.95 2.76 59.0 44.2 Achieve ™ 3854 10.0 1.32 3.14 45.5 40.4 (300 m/min) Achieve ™ 3854 (900 9.8 0.85 2.73 39.0 24.3 m/min) EX1-A(300 m/min) 10.2 1.61 2.52 56.7 45.3 EX1-A(900 m/min) 9.8 1.13 2.89 38.4 Lumicene ™ MR 2002 10 1.70 2.92 50.3 44.6 (300 m/min) Lumicene ™ MR 2002 9.8 1.21 3.33 37.7 (900 m/min) US 2011/0081817 12.0 1.6 2.9 59 65.0 Example 3* US 2011/0081817 12.0 1.65 3.03 66 68.0 Example 4* US 2011/0081817 12.0 1.49 2.82 57 56.0 Comparative Example 2* US 2010/0233927 12.0 1.78 3.18 69.4 66.9 Example 2* US 2011/0059668 12.0 1.30 2.85 66 61.0 Example 3* *data taken from cited reference, 300 m/min, 12 gsm.

TABLE E Fabric Elmendorf tear strength (ASTM D 1922 ) at low (300 m/min) and high (900 m/min) spunbond line speed conditions, nominal Fabric basis weight 10 gsm CD CD CD MD CD CD Elmendorf CD CD Elmendorf Elmendorf Elmendorf Elmendorf Elmendorf Tear Elmendorf Elmendorf Tear Tear Tear Tear Tear (N/gsm) Tear Tear (N/gsm) (gr/gsm) (gr/gsm) speed (N/gsm) (N/gsm) Lumicene (N/gsm) (N/gsm) Lumicene Achieve Achieve (m/min) PP3155 EX1-A MR 2002 PP3155 EX1-A MR 2002 3854 3854 300 11.8 15.9 20.5 7.8 11.0 14.7 19.4 13.1 900 12.7 13.1 16.1 7.0 9.6 11.6 16.5 12.8

Having described the various features of the invention, described herein in numbered paragraphs are:

-   P1. A propylene polymer composition comprising at least 50 mol %     propylene, said polymer composition having:     -   a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10         dg/min to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min;     -   b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ at 190° C.         from 1.5 to 28;     -   c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow,         T_(c,rheol) (as determined by SAOS rheology, 1° C./min, where         said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least         131° C.; and     -   d) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least         90 or 97. -   P2. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1 where the     composition comprises a combination of two or more propylene     polymers. -   P3. The propylene polymer composition of claims 1 or 2 where the     propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index     R₁ at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5 and/or a loss tangent, tan δ, at an     angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s at 190° C. from 14 to 70. -   P4. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless     Shear Thinning Index R₃ at 190° C. of 6 to 13. -   P5. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless     Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ at 190° C. of 1.5 to 20. -   P6. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (second     melt, 1° C./min) of 120° C. or more. -   P7. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a percent     crystallinity of 20% to 80%. -   P8. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a glass     transition temperature, Tg, of −50° C. to 120° C. -   P9. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a crystallization     temperature, Tc, (1° C./min) of 15° C. to 150° C. -   P10. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a branching index     (g′_(vis)) of 0.85 or more. -   P11. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene     polymer having an Mw/Mn of 1 to 7 and/or an Mz/Mw of 1.5 to 2.5. -   P12. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(c,rheol) of     135° C. or more. -   P13. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (10° C.     per minute) of 120° C. or more and a (1° C. per minute) of 125° C.     or more. -   P14. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a supercooling     parameter SPC (1° C. per minute) of −10° C. or less and an SPC     (10° C. per minute) of −1° C. or less. -   P15. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (1° C.     per minute) of 140° C. or more and a Dimensionless Stress Ratio     Index R₁ at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5. -   P16. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(cp) (1° C.     per minute) of 125° C. or more or a T_(cp) (10° C. per minute) of     115° C. or more and a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄     at 190° C. of 1.50 to 20. -   P17. A propylene polymer composition comprising a propylene polymer     having:     -   1) an MFR in the range from 10 dg/min to 21.5 or 25.0 dg/min;         and     -   2) a) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ at 190° C. from 1.2         to 4.5; or         -   b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ at             190° C. from 1.5 to 28; or         -   c) a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ at 190° C. from 6             to 13; or         -   d) a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ at             190° C. from 1.5 to 20; or         -   e) a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1             rad/s at 190° C. from 14 to 70; or         -   f) a Stress Ratio (SR) at a shear rate of 500 s⁻¹ at 190° C.             from 3.1 to 6.1; and     -   3) a) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow         T_(c,rheol) (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating         agent of at least 131° C. or higher; or         -   b) a T_(c) _(p) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C.             per minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 125° C. or             higher; or         -   c) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per             minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 117° C. or             higher; or         -   d) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a             heating and cooling rate of 10° C./min) with 0% nucleating             agent of less than −2° C.; or         -   e) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a             heating and cooling rate of 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating             agent of less than −13° C.; and     -   4) a) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at         least 90 or 97; or         -   b) a total number of defects (stereo and regio) per 10,000             monomers of less than 103. -   P18. The propylene polymer composition of claim 17 where the     propylene polymer has:     -   1) an MFR in the range from 14 dg/min to 19 dg/min; and     -   2) a) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ at 190° C. from 2.0         to 3.0; or         -   b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ at             190° C. from 2.5 to 6.5; or         -   c) a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ at 190° C. from             7.0 to 10.0; or         -   d) a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ at             190° C. from 2.0 to 6.0; or         -   e) a Loss Tangent (tan δ) at an angular frequency of 0.1             rad/s at 190° C. from 35 to 65; or         -   f) a Stress Ratio (SR) at a shear rate of 500 s⁻¹ at 190° C.             from 3.3 to 4.0; and     -   3) a) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow         T_(c,rheol) (via SAOS rheology, 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating         agent of at least 134° C. or higher; or         -   b) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 1° C. per             minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 133° C. or             higher; or         -   c) a T_(cp) (measured by DSC at a cooling rate of 10° C. per             minute) with 0% nucleating agent of at least 123° C. or             higher; or         -   d) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a             heating and cooling rate of 10° C./min) with 0% nucleating             agent of less than −3.5° C.; or         -   e) a supercooling parameter SCP (measured by DSC at a             heating and cooling rate of 1° C./min) with 0% nucleating             agent of less than −17.0° C.; and     -   4) a) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at         least 100 or higher; or         -   b) a total number of defects (stereo and regio) per 10,000             monomers of less than 100. -   P19. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where propylene polymer has not been visbroken. -   P20. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims where propylene polymer has been visbroken. -   P21. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims having a 1% secant flexural modulus of 190 kpsi or higher. -   P22. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims having a tensile strength at yield of 4,700 psi or higher. -   P23. The propylene polymer composition of any one of the preceding     claims having a heat distortion temperature at 66 psi of 95° C. or     higher. -   P24. An article comprising the composition of any one of the     preceding claims. -   P25. A molded article comprising the composition of any one of the     preceding claims. -   P26. The composition of claims 17-25 where propylene polymer has not     been visbroken. -   P27. The composition of claims 17-26 where propylene polymer has     been visbroken. -   P28. The composition of claims 17-27 having a 1% secant flexural     modulus of 190 kpsi or higher. -   P29. The composition of claims 17-28 having a tensile strength at     yield of 4,700 psi or higher. -   P30. The composition of claims 17-29 having a heat distortion     temperature at 66 psi of 95° C. or higher. -   P31. An article comprising the composition of claims 17-30. -   P32. A molded article comprising the composition of claims 17-31. -   P33. A blend comprising: 1) a homopolypropylene having an MFR of 22     dg/min or more and 2) a propylene polymer composition comprising at     least 50 mol % propylene, said polymer composition having:     -   a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10         dg/min to 21.5 dg/min;     -   b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ at 190° C.         from 1.5 to 28;     -   c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow,         T_(c,rheol) (as determined by SAOS rheology, 1° C./min, where         said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least         131° C.; and     -   d) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least         90.

All documents described herein are incorporated by reference herein, including any priority documents and/or testing procedures to the extent they are not inconsistent with this text, provided however that any priority document not named in the initially filed application or filing documents is not incorporated by reference herein. As is apparent from the foregoing general description and the specific embodiments, while forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereby. 

1. A propylene polymer composition comprising at least 50 mol % propylene, said polymer composition having: a) a melt flow rate (MFR, ASTM 1238, 230° C., 2.16 kg) of 10 dg/min to 25 dg/min; b) a Dimensionless Stress Ratio/Loss Tangent Index R₂ at 190° C. from 1.5 to 28; c) an onset temperature of crystallization under flow, T_(c,rheol) (as determined by SAOS rheology, 1° C./min, where said polymer has 0 wt % nucleating agent present), of at least 131° C.; and d) an average meso run length determined by ¹³C NMR of at least 90 or
 97. 2. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the composition comprises a combination of two or more propylene polymers.
 3. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5 and/or a loss tangent, tan δ, at an angular frequency of 0.1 rad/s at 190° C. from 14 to
 70. 4. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless Shear Thinning Index R₃ at 190° C. of 6 to
 13. 5. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a Dimensionless Loss Tangent/Elasticity Index R₄ at 190° C. of 1.5 to
 20. 6. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (second melt, 1° C./min) of 120° C. or more.
 7. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a percent crystallinity of 20% to 80%.
 8. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a glass transition temperature, Tg, of −50° C. to 120° C.
 9. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a crystallization temperature, Tc, (1° C./min) of 15° C. to 150° C.
 10. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a branching index (g′_(vis)) of 0.85 or more.
 11. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition comprises a propylene polymer having an Mw/Mn of 1 to 7 and/or an Mz/Mw of 1.5 to 2.5.
 12. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(c,rheol) of 135° C. or more.
 13. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (10° C. per minute) of 120° C. or more and a T_(cp) (1° C. per minute) of 125° C. or more.
 14. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a supercooling parameter SPC (1° C. per minute) of −10° C. or less and an SPC (10° C. per minute) of −1° C. or less.
 15. The propylene polymer composition of claim 1, where the propylene polymer composition has a T_(mp) (1° C. per minute) of 140° C. or more and a Dimensionless Stress Ratio Index R₁ at 190° C. of 1.2 to 4.5. 